Where Is Craig Melvin on ‘Today’? Host’s Absence Explained as Peter Alexander Fills in for Him

Craig Melvin was missing from his usual spot at the news desk on Today next to Savannah Guthrie on February 11, 2025. Peter Alexander slid into the coanchor seat during the episode.

Where Is Craig Melvin on Today?

Savannah opened the episode with Peter, revealing that Craig was actually headed overseas for a very special reason.

“Nice to have you with us, Peter. Craig is on assignment in Milan,” the broadcaster revealed. “Tomorrow on Today, he’s going to give us a first look at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The countdown is already underway so he’s going to show us around the beautiful host city.”

Craig previously joked last week that he would be “taking one for the team” and “going to Italy next week and gonna give you a bit of a preview.”

The South Carolina native took over coanchor duties from Hoda Kotb in January 2025 after she decided to leave the show.

Prior to appearing on the episode alongside Savannah, Peter shared a throwback clip from his early journalism days and teased his Today appearance.

“Just dug up this classic Medill Evening News clip from @northwesternu @medillschool. Thinking it’s 1998. Long way from @nbcnews. What a journey! Fill-in anchoring @todayshow alongside @savannahguthrie tomorrow. Hope you’ll watch,” he wrote on Instagram on February 10, 2025.

In the comments section, fans were looking forward to seeing Peter pop up on the weekday edition of the show.

“I think you are great. One of the few reporters who ask the hard questions and keep at it,” one person commented, while another said, “You were born to anchor!”

Who Is Peter Alexander?

Most Today fans know Peter from his work on Weekend Today, cohosting alongside Laura Jarrett. His time at NBC started in 2004, reporting on major world events all over the globe, before he was named an NBC News White House correspondent in 2012.

After filling in numerous times on Weekend Today, he was officially named an anchor on the program in 2018.

“I’ve been watching this show since I was a kid and I am so honored, I’m so grateful to share this set with you guys,” he said at the time. “I’ve learned so much from so many people in this system.”

In August 2024, Peter celebrated 20 years at NBC with a look back at his career.

“What I learned the most is what it means to be a storyteller. I really feel like we have a higher responsibility doing this for a living,” he said. “Being journalists, you have the trust of the audience, the trust of the people whose stories you’re telling. That’s something that I take so seriously.”

Peter was 27 years old when he first joined NBC, but he’s learned so much over the years.

“So the idea that now, I’m one of the old guys around — I got the grey hair to show it — that I get to have these experiences and hopefully, sort of inspire or at least motivate this new generation of journalists is something that I’m really enjoying,” he explained. “So for any of those young people that I met on the plaza or maybe those who are watching from home right now, I promise you, I’m keeping the seat warm and you’re up next.”