A new set, a new host! The Today show is gearing up to reveal its new Studio 1A digs on Monday, Sept. 16, and the co-hosts couldn’t be more pleased with the reboot — plus, a certain former MTV VJ is joining the family! Carson Daly will now be the face of the new Orange Room, just one of the many additions to the NBC morning institution. He will simultaneously continue his hosting duties on The Voice.
“I filled in a couple of times here and there and then once the summer came — then it was fast track,” the 40-year-old said of how he transitioned into the position. “Then I started consulting on the build [of the Orange Room] and how it would function and the ways we would integrate it with outside of here and then they asked me, ‘Well, is there any way we could do this?’ and we engaged in a deal.” The new area will be used for Social Media and to connect with viewers in a more tech-savvy and friendlier environment.
But when one joins the ranks of Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, Al Roker and Willie Geist, expect a bit of hazing! Daly is already joking that the NBC family will be ready to attack on his first official day — starting with Lauer! “I referred to myself as his digital doorman and he asked me where his Chinese food was,” the Last Call with Carson Daly host revealed. Morales added: “I’m making him pick up my coffee every morning and I like it at 150 degrees.”
As for Lauer, he’ll also be waiting in the wings with an “electric seat and whoopee cushions.” Guthrie, however, is playing nice — after he gets her a refreshment, of course. “I would love a smoothie – maybe a banana smoothie,” she said. “He’s been around here a lot so it already feels like he’s someone on the team and he’s a perfect fit. He’s a good egg.”
As for the old gang, they couldn’t be more excited for the new space. “Every couple of years you like to redo a bathroom or bedroom. We needed a facelift and it couldn’t have come at a better moment,” Morales said. “We all wanted something warmer.”
Lauer added: “I do think its warmer and the lights are warmer, the colors are good. I think it’ll be great.”
The Today show airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on NBC.
