‘Today’ Reveals 3 Celebrity Replacements for Hoda Kotb in Show’s 4th Hour: Who Are Jenna’s Guest Cohosts?

It’s official — the first group of celebrity cohosts has been announced for Today With Jenna & Friends!

Jenna Bush Hager revealed that Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer will be serving as guest cohosts in Today’s fourth hour once Hoda Kotb departs the program. The announcement was made during an episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna on Monday, January 6.

Hoda’s final episode will be on January 10. The cast will be celebrating her time on the show with a special episode featuring surprises and celebrity appearances. After she leaves, Today With Hoda & Jenna will officially be called Today With Jenna & Friends.

“It’s going to be our month of wonder women,” Jenna, 43, said, revealing that the guest cohosts will be joining her for episodes during the week of January 13.

“You know what that says? Heavy hitter, home run, wow,” Hoda said about the lineup. “This is a big week.”

“We love these women, we’ve said we love these women,” Jenna continued. “I feel like Hoda helped me manifest this. Nobody will ever fill this chair, but the three of them sure can try.”

Taraji, 54, Eva, 49, and Keke, 31, are no strangers to the Today stage, as they have all made appearances on the show before. It is assumed that different celebrities will be announced as the guest cohosts for the week after. Fans already are holding out hope for some of their favorites, including Saturday Night Live‘s Mikey Day, to be included in the roster.

While the first three guest cohosts have been announced, speculation has continued to rise about who will ultimately end up snagging the permanent cohosting position in the show’s fourth hour. Fans of the show will just have to wait and see.

“At this point, Hoda’s replacement is anyone’s guess,” an insider told Closer in December. “NBC doesn’t want to wait too long, but they’re definitely not rushing into making a decision this important.”

Today veteran Craig Melvin was already named as Hoda’s replacement in the show’s early morning hours, set to join Savannah Guthrie at the news desk on the morning of January 13. But questions about the permanent cohosting seat in the show’s fourth hour still loom.

Hoda is “confident that NBC will make the right decision,” an insider told Closer in December 2024, about who will end up becoming her fourth hour replacement.

“Her big concern right now is her last day, which is being planned as a huge party with special moments and surprise guests,” the source added. “Hoda isn’t prepared; she knows it will be an emotional day, and there will be a lot of tears. It’s going to be a very bittersweet send-off.”

As for the reason why the show is bringing on guest cohosts to sit next to Jenna, NBC is looking at it like an audition of sorts.

“They’re looking for that special spark between them,” the first insider said. “That person, whether it’s someone with a news background or a celebrity, will have some big shoes to fill.”