What To Know
- Al Roker is taking the week off from NBC’s Today, with Dylan Dreyer and Kaylee Hartung filling in for his weather and hosting duties.
- Today hosts often take several days off in the summer to enjoy vacation time with family and friends.
- Roker recently shared behind-the-scenes pics and clips from Today‘s Fourth of July coverage on New York Harbor.
The hosting lineup on NBC‘s Today is missing one of its most memorable faces this week.
Al Roker was absent from the Monday, July 6, episode of the morning show, with Dylan Dreyer taking over weather reporting duties in his place. Later that morning, Craig Melvin revealed the length of Roker’s absence during the third hour of Today.
“Al [is] enjoying the week off,” he confirmed. Kaylee Hartung filled in for Roker on the third hour of Today, while Dreyer once again stepped in for him on the show’s Tuesday, July 7, episode.
The hosts didn’t confirm the reason for Roker’s absence. However, it’s common for the TV personalities to take multiple days off at a time during the summer to enjoy vacation with friends and family. Episodes of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle were prerecorded last week as Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones took a break from the series.
For Roker, his latest Today break comes after a busy weekend. On Saturday, July 4, he and many of his fellow Today hosts took over Weekend Today to celebrate America 250. Melvin and Savannah Guthrie reported live from Governors Island in New York City, while Roker, Bush Hager, and Dylan Dreyer reported from different ships in the New York Harbor.
At one point, Roker and Bush Hager tried to get each other’s attention as their ships sailed close to each other. “Two ships passing in the *daytime*,” Today’s official Instagram page captioned the funny clip on Saturday. While Bush Hager held a sign that read, “Where’s Al Roker,” Roker and his ship’s crew loudly shouted, “Jenna!” In response, Bush Hager yelled, “Hi, Al!”
Roker later shared several behind-the-scenes clips from his day at sea via Instagram. “My 24 hours aboard the @uscg @barqueeagle under the command of Capt. Kristopher Ensley as she lead the parade of #tallships for @sail4th250 celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday,” he captioned the Sunday, July 5, post. “I got to see firsthand how the cadets and the crew live their motto, #semperparatus And a thank you to my @nbcnews crew of @jennifer_k_long @flickerflyproductions Bruno Trepanier and @audiobobby @nbcinthefield.”
He continued to give fans glimpses into his family’s Fourth of July celebrations via Instagram, including sharing a video of their holiday food spread and an adorable snap of his granddaughter, Sky.
“It’s great to see my granddaughter takes after her Pop-Pop when comes to being serious and dignified,” Roker lovingly captioned the Instagram pic on Monday. (Roker’s eldest daughter, Courtney, and her husband, Wesley Laga, welcomed Sky in 2023.)
Fans gushed over the sweet photo in the post’s comments, with one user writing, “Looks like her daddy with her grandpa’s funny side.” Another added, “OH MY GOODNESS!!! She is an absolute doll.” Someone else shared, “She’s a kid now…not a baby! So adorable!”
A different person posted, “Such joy on this beauty’s face…. She knows she is loved!!” A separate commenter gushed, “Sky is so beautiful and looks so grown up.”
Today, Weekdays, 7 am/6c, NBC