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Scarlett Johansson has discussed who she believes should serve as Jenna Bush Hager’s permanent Today cohost.
In a cover story for InStyle magazine, published on Tuesday, March 11, the actress, 40, reportedly agreed that the NBC news program needs somebody “spicy,” adding herself that Today’s Hager, 43, “needs to be with someone funny.”
Johansson, who cohosted Today with Hager for one week commencing January 20, also reflected on the show’s previous cohost Hoda Kotb, with the outlet reporting that Johansson referred to her as “a mentor.”
“I think with Hoda, it was so great because she was, like, you know, a little older, but with kids,” Johansson said. “She was a little step ahead.”
As for her own experience on Today, Johansson has extremely fond memories of the week. “[Cohosting] Today really is a fantasy job for me,” Johansson said. “I like every element of that job because I love talking to people. It’s not dissimilar from hosting Saturday Night Live in some ways. The live element of it is really fun. Spontaneous and a little dangerous too. I would never want my own TV show.” (Johansson has hosted SNL six times and her most recent was the December 14, 2019, episode.)
When Johansson was revealed as a temporary Today host in January, she surprised many of her loved ones. “Everyone in my life can’t quite believe it,” Johansson said on the January 21 episode of Today. “The people that knew me very well were like, ‘You are living your dream. I am so happy for you.’ The people that did not know me as well were like, ‘What’s going on? Are you OK?’”
During the episode, Johansson detailed her childhood dream of working as a breakfast television host, noting that as a kid, she would look at herself “in the mirror with a shampoo bottle.”
She continued, “I’m like, ‘Good morning, everyone, and I hope you had a wonderful weekend. What’s happening in your neck of the woods?’ All of that stuff.”
As for Kotb, 60, the former host appeared on her final episode of Today on January 10 — 17 years after she started with the program. Her final episode began on a tearful note as she cried after watching a video package of Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly singing her praises. In return, she shared her own kind words about her colleagues.
Kotb joined NBC in April 1998, serving as a correspondent for the network and Dateline before becoming the host of the fourth hour of the Today show in September 2007. Kathie Lee Gifford stepped in as her cohost from April 2008 to April 2019, before Hager took over the role.
