Savannah Guthrie returned to the TODAY show earlier this month on Monday, April 6. This came two months after her mother Nancy Guthrie, 84, was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Sadly, Nancy remains missing, and the search for her continues.
Now, a media insider is claiming that Savannah’s TODAY return has backfired on her. According to this source, NBC has been left disappointed by it, as her return did not meet their expectations when it came to public reception.
Savannah’s Disappointing TODAY Return
While being interviewed on The Megyn Kelly Show, entertainment journalist Rob Shuter revealed that NBC had braced for a major scene when Savannah, 54, returned to TODAY.
“Everybody at NBC thought there were going to be hundreds of people, if not thousands of people, in the plaza,” Shuter said. “They’d hired extra security.”
Shuter went on to say that NBC was expecting “a pop concert like Justin Bieber.” However, that did not end up happening. Instead, the crowd that gathered looked very small.
“The Savannah card, the Savannah moment didn’t quite turn out to be what they wanted” from her comeback, according to Shuter.
The ratings were also less than impressive. Indeed, TODAY only rose 6% in total viewers and 2% in the Adults 25–54 demo.
Host Megyn Kelly argued that the bigger issue may be star power in the morning TV world.
“Savannah was never a big star,” she claimed.
Shuter was quick to agree, saying that times have changed. He stated that while past TODAY anchors were recognizable to all, these days, “nobody recognizes them. It’s just a different era.”
Nancy was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31. That evening, she had dinner with her daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni. They dropped her off at her home afterwards at around 9:45pm, and she tragically hasn’t been seen since.
A masked intruder was captured on Nancy’s doorbell ring camera in the early hours of February 1. He managed to cover the camera with some plants before moving forward with the kidnapping.
It has since been revealed that the masked man had been seen in the doorbell ring camera prior to the night Nancy was taken. This indicates that he may have been casing out her home.
Savannah Refuses To Give Up Her ‘Normal Life’
Last week, insiders told Shuter that Savannah declined an offer from NBC for extra security. She declined this because she is determined to not give up her “normal life.”
“She wants to walk in, do her job, and not feel surrounded by fear,” an insider told Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack.
“She’s protected, but she’s not giving up her normal life,” the source continued. “There is no private, dedicated security just for Savannah inside her office. That was her decision.”
Just because Savannah declined this personal security offer, however, does not mean that NBC hasn’t increased security in general.
“There is extra security at the show and throughout NBC right now,” the insider explained. “The building is locked down tighter than usual. Access is stricter than ever. No pass, no entry — no exceptions.”
The source added that “even longtime staff are being turned away if they don’t follow protocol.”
This has clearly been a nightmarishly difficult time for Savannah and for her entire family. Please join us in saying a prayer for them, and for the return of Nancy Guthrie.