Why Craig Melvin ‘wandered off’ the TODAY set

Craig Melvin was called out by his co-star, Al Roker, during the March 27 instalment of the TODAY Show after he went behind-the-scenes during a live segment of the show. The meteorologist was in the middle of discussing customer service calls with Dylan Dreyer when he suddenly paused the segment to note that his co-host had disappeared.

“Take a look, Craig has wandered off. What’s going on?” said Al. Craig then returned to the screen while the studio erupted into laughter. “I’m just coming back. I was going to take a piece of Dylan’s bagel,” replied Craig.

Craig joined as a regular host on the NBC show following Hoda Kotb’s departure in January 2025. He has been part of the team for years, but his permanent position was a huge move. 

The news anchor exclusively spoke with us and talked about the learning curve that comes with becoming a big daytime co-host. He expressed: “It’s just a lot. There’s a lot about the job that you don’t really understand or appreciate until you have the job.”Craig continued: “Like there are luncheons or meetings or Q&A sessions with different groups and you’re like, ‘Why is this on the calendar? Like why do we do this?'”

The TV star recalled the moment he understood the show’s traditions and expressed: “Oh yeah, the TODAY Show host has done it for 25 years and so you don’t wanna be the guy, the first guy who doesn’t do it.” He added: “It’s funny because I’ll find myself sometimes in meetings. I’m like, ‘Why am I here? Like what purpose am I serving?'”

At the time, Al also spoke with us about his colleague Hoda’s departure as lead co-anchor, and the strong foundation the TODAY family has always had. “The great thing about the Today Show” is that “the sum is greater than its equal parts,” he shared.

“They’ve all subbed, they’ve all stepped in, and we don’t miss a beat. So no matter what happens, we’re going to be in great shape,” Al ensured, noting that the show, which has been on the air since 1952, is “built to evolve.”

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He continued: “Each one of us is very fortunate to be in this position, for however long we have, and then we pass the baton off to somebody else. So the future of the show is just as strong and bright no matter who steps in.”

Since Craig’s permanent role on the show, the duo have enjoyed a playful relationship and often jokingly call each other out on the show for their behind-the-scenes behaviour.