The Guy Who Replaced the Guy
Craig Melvin is the co-anchor of NBC's Today show, the morning show that's been on the air since 1952. He was named co-anchor in January 2025, stepping into the role that Hoda Kotb vacated when she left the show. If you've been hearing his name a lot lately, that's why — a host change on a show that gets 3 million viewers a day is going to make noise.
Melvin isn't a new face to NBC viewers. He's been at the network since 2011, doing MSNBC news, weekend Today, and fill-in work for years. The promotion was a slow build, not a sudden arrival. But for people who don't watch morning TV regularly, he can feel like he came out of nowhere. He didn't.
Where He Came From
Craig Melvin was born May 20, 1979, and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He got into broadcasting early — he was a teen reporter for a local station while still in high school, which is the kind of origin story that sounds made up but apparently isn't. He started his professional career at WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, then worked his way through local news markets.
His real break came at WRC-TV in Washington, DC, the NBC-owned station in the nation's capital. He anchored the evening news there and built a reputation as a solid, no-nonsense reporter. That's where MSNBC found him. He moved to the cable network full-time in 2011.
At MSNBC, Melvin anchored breaking news coverage, election nights, and regular daytime hours. He was the guy NBC put on when something serious happened — mass shootings, natural disasters, political chaos. He didn't do the opinion show thing. He was a news anchor in the traditional sense, which is increasingly rare on cable news.
Moving to Today
The transition to Today started gradually. He became a regular weekend anchor in 2018, then a weekday fill-in, then a permanent co-host. By the time Hoda Kotb announced she was leaving, Melvin was the obvious internal choice. NBC didn't go outside the building. They promoted from within, which is a rare move in the anchor shuffle game.
He now co-anchors the 7 to 9 am hours alongside Savannah Guthrie, with Al Roker doing weather and Carson Daly in the third hour. The show's dynamic has shifted — Melvin is more reserved than Kotb was, more of a news reader than a personality driver, and the reviews have been mostly positive. He brings a steadiness that some viewers prefer over the more emotional tone Kotb brought to the chair. His salary is reportedly around $6 million a year as co-anchor, which is what you'd expect for the chair.
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He's also continued doing NBC News special reports — election coverage, presidential addresses, major breaking news. He launched a podcast called "Glass Half Full" in 2026, focusing on optimistic stories and conversations — a different vibe from his news-anchor day job, and a sign NBC sees him as a bigger brand.
What You Might Not Know
Melvin is married to Lindsay Czarniak, a sports broadcaster who's worked at ESPN and Fox. As of August 2026, Czarniak landed a new job at CBS Sports, which means the couple now spans three of the big four networks between them. They have two kids and live in the New York area.
Melvin's been open about his father's past struggles with alcoholism and his brother's mental health challenges — he's done segments on Today about both, which is part of why viewers connect with him. He's not performing a persona. The personal stuff is genuinely personal.
He's also a big college football fan, specifically a Syracuse Orange fan, which is a deep cut for a South Carolina native but goes back to family connections. He's mentioned it on air enough that it's become a running bit.
Where to Watch
Today airs on NBC every weekday morning from 7 to 11 am. If you have an antenna or a basic cable package, you have it. For streaming, Peacock carries same-day episodes, and YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and fuboTV all include NBC in their base packages.
Craig Melvin isn't a flashy pick for the anchor chair. He's a steady, competent journalist who earned the job over 14 years. Whether that's enough to keep Today's ratings up against Good Morning America and CBS Mornings is an open question. But if you're looking for a morning host who doesn't make you cringe, he's a solid choice.
