‘Weekend Today’ anchor to move off show to focus on weekday work

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After five years as co-anchor of “Weekend Today,” Sheinelle Jones is leaving the show to focus on her Monday through Friday gig on the third hour of “Today.”

• Jones has been working six days a week since being named a permanent co-host of the third hour of “Today” on weekdays.
• On Dec. 21, 2019’s edition of “Weekend Today,” which was her last, Jones said spending more time with her family was a big part of the decision.
• Jones will continue to appear Monday through Friday on the third hour of “Today,” alongside Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Craig Melvin.
• It’s worth noting that Dreyer also appears on “Weekend Today” and therefore also typically works six days a week.
• No replacement for Jones has been named and NBC will use rotating fill in hosts until a decision is made (it’s also worth noting that due the the upcoming holidays, most or all of the regular talent may be off).

Jones co-anchored Saturday editions of “Today” alongside White House correspondent Peter Alexander since 2018.

• Alexander, who commutes to New York to host Saturday “Today,” also appears across NBC News and MSNBC throughout the week, though NBC has multiple correspondents assigned to the White House so he doesn’t necessarily have to work six days a week.
• The changes do not affect the Sunday edition of “Today,” which is branded as a separate program and is hosted by Willie Geist.
• Geist also appears on NBC and MSNBC throughout the week.

“Today Third Hour” was created in 2018 as a temporary replacement for “Megyn Kelly Today” after NBC announced it was cancelling the morning talk show following controversial comments host Megyn Kelly made about blackface.

• NBC would eventually settle on the current permanent host lineup.
• Before “Megyn Kelly,” the timeslot was occupied by a similar format called “Today’s Take” that was hosted, most notably, by Roker and Tamron Hall.
• Hall left NBC News after her contract was not renewed and launched her own syndicated talk show this year.