The morning had already been packed with tributes when the “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie looked at her longtime colleague, Hoda Kotb, and teased another surprise.
“Well, listen, we have one final guest this hour who really wanted to wish you well on your next adventure,” Ms. Guthrie said.
Kermit the Frog popped above the couch and began serenading Ms. Kotb with “Rainbow Connection,” a song that she apparently sings to her two young daughters every evening.
“Oh my God,” Ms. Kotb mouthed, as she held her girls on the “Today” couch and wiped away tears.
During much of the 8 a.m. hour of NBC’s “Today” on Friday, all of the big stories on a very chaotic news day — the Los Angeles fires, president-elect Donald J. Trump’s sentencing in a New York court, the Supreme Court TikTok hearing — were put on pause.
Instead, the show turned into an extended celebration of Ms. Kotb, who was anchoring “Today” for the final time. In September, Ms. Kotb, in a surprise announcement, said that she would be step down from the job, one of the most prominent in television, after being part of the show for 17 years. She said at the time that her recent 60th birthday prompted her to want more time with her children. NBC announced in November that a “Today” fixture, Craig Melvin, would replace her.
Ms. Kotb’s departure has allowed NBC to flaunt something that can be occasionally elusive to the “Today” franchise: a peaceful transfer of power.
Ms. Kotb’s predecessor, Matt Lauer, never had a chance to say farewell to viewers after he was abruptly fired from the network, having been accused of sexual misconduct. When Ann Curry was forced to leave as a co-host of “Today” in 2012, she all but told viewers she was not leaving voluntarily. “For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball to the finish line, but man, I did try,” she said on her final episode as co-host.
Ms. Kotb, on the other hand, is leaving while she is on top. And the network that she’s called home for 26 years has made it clear it would be happy to give her a star-spangled send-off.
Special guests — including Simone Biles, Kathie Lee Gifford, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Jimmy Fallon and Jamie Lee Curtis — all offered tributes on Friday, capping off a week that “Today” had billed as a “Hoda-bration!”
“I can’t believe you came,” Ms. Kotb said, her voice breaking, upon greeting and hugging the gymnast Ms. Biles in the studio.
“Of course,” Ms. Biles replied. “You showed up and supported me.”
Ms. Kotb is leaving an industry that is in the throes of significant tumult. Salaries for news anchors are beginning to fall sharply, and other veterans, including Chris Wallace of CNN and Neil Cavuto of Fox News, also announced departures recently.
Ms. Kotb is leaving “Today” in very good shape. “Today” has bested its rival, “Good Morning America,” in total viewers and all the key ratings demographics for 10 consecutive weeks. That is the show’s longest such winning streak in more than a decade. Ms. Kotb is also departing her role hosting the show’s popular 10 a.m. hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager.
During the 8 a.m. hour on Friday, Ms. Guthrie and other “Today” regulars gave their farewells in a video package.
“Hoda, I love you, I love you deeply,” Ms. Guthrie said. “Like I always tell you, whether you’re sitting next to me or not, whether we get up at 4 in the morning together or not, I will always be your side, and you will always be by mine.”
Ms. Kotb, again in tears, then looked at her colleagues, and paid honor to each of them. She told Carson Daly that he was the “secret sauce” of the show. To Al Roker, she said he was her first friend at “Today.” To Ms. Guthrie, she said, “My God, you’re my person, you’re my person.”
And to her successor, Mr. Melvin, she told him that he had “earned this,” before she kicked off a chorus off laughter from the “Today” studio.
“Come Monday, at 7 a.m.,” she said, “I’m going to be dead asleep.”
