Can The Fourth Hour Of The ‘Today Show’ Survive Without Kathie Lee Gifford?

When Kathie Lee Gifford joined the Today Show back in 2008, it was natural to feel like we knew what to expect. After all, we’d watched her for more than two decades alongside Regis Philbin on Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. She was a little zany and certainly not afraid to speak her mind, but she was also a TV stalwart, so her addition to the NBC morning show made perfect sense. She made such an impact on the 10 o’clock hour alongside co-anchor Hoda Kotb that you have to wonder if Today will be the same without her.

Gifford announced her departure from Today back in December, revealing that she planned to move down to Nashville to focus on film, book, and music projects, so it’s not as if viewers didn’t have time to prepare. Still, her final week on the show, which consisted of fond reminiscences from colleagues and celebrity friends alike, showed just how much of an impact she’s made over the past 11 years. It’s hard to imagine her slot, which is now occupied by Jenna Bush Hager, delivering the same kind of energy and outright wackiness that Gifford delivered on a near daily basis.

Whoever initially decided to pair Kotb and Gifford deserves a medal. While Gifford herself has admittedly she initially only planned to stay a year, her chemistry with Hoda and the genuine affection and admiration they developed for one another turned into one of the most memorable partnerships on daytime TV. It wasn’t the kind of thing that could be predicted or even manufactured; rather, it was one of those rare but magical moments of the thing TV execs love most — synergy.

It’s hard to dissect what made the pairing work so perfectly. Perhaps it was that Kotb readily played the role of the straight (wo)man to Gifford’s goofier approach. The latter’s refusal to adhere to what would probably be considered “normal” practice on a morning news show was part of the fun. She’d tell a crazy story or make a ridiculous outburst and Kotb would immediately be pulled in, leaving the two laughing hysterically as if they were out on a girls night instead of on national TV.

Of course, the wine helped too—and there was copious amounts of it, already poured and waiting for the broadcast to begin. (Some 5,300 glasses of wine, if NBC researchers are to be trusted.) It was a tad unconventional—drinking before noon? Well, one could assume it’s noon somewhere—but also part of what made the Hoda and Kathie Lee hour so enjoyable. All of the serious news reporting and hard-hitting features could be handled by their colleagues; from 10 to 11, it was all about having fun. They were a brief respite from an otherwise hectic day, an hour to unwind and step away from the seriousness of all the bad stuff happening in the world, and they were great together.

This is why it’s hard to envy Hager, who has rather large shoes to fill and certainly knows it. It’s an exciting career move for her but must also be intimidating, especially knowing that so much of what made her new job so exciting had much to do with the person who previously occupied the position as it does with the job itself.

So far, she’s been doing a good job. There’s some obvious nervousness, which is understandable given that it’s a new position with a somewhat different audience, but generally speaking, she’s fit in well. Of course, it’s impossible to ignore that the general ambiance of the hour has changed somewhat. The content is the same but Kotb and Hager don’t have the same chemistry. That doesn’t mean a different and equally enjoyable rapport won’t develop over time, just that it’s not quite there yet.

Gifford has only been gone for two weeks, so it’s still easy to harken back to the days when she was still at the newsdesk. That will likely change over the coming months and years as viewers get used to the new combination of hosts and learn to appreciate them in a unique but equally as special way. Of course, there’s always a chance that Gifford could return to our TV screens, albeit likely on a different program and in a different “role,” and in fact that seems pretty likely. It’s pretty safe to say that fans of the Hoda and Kathie Lee hour will be looking forward to that.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.