Watch Al Roker Address Tamron Hall's Big Exit On The Today Show

NBC News has gone through same major shakeups over the past several months, starting with the Billy Bush scandal last October. Recent changes haven't stirred quite as much controversy, but they'll still mean big change for daytime television. Longtime Fox News personality Megyn Kelly is moving to the Today Show and taking over an hour formerly hosted by Al Roker and Tamron Hall, and Tamron Hall decided not to stick around. Al Roker is still on board at Today, and he took the time to address Hall's departure on camera. Check it out!

For any Today viewers who don't keep up on the latest developments in the NBC lineup, Tamron Hall's big exit may have come as a surprise. She didn't get a grand sendoff or even a heartfelt goodbye. Her last day on Today was Tuesday, and she simply won't be back. Judging by Al Roker's words in the latest episode, the abruptness of her decision to leave hasn't resulted in any bad blood at the show. Roker genuinely seems to care about Hall and support her in any future endeavors. All things considered, Al Roker is handling Hall's exit with more composure than Kelly Ripa handled Michael Strahan's departure from Live with Kelly and Michael last year.

Of course, I don't think anybody can really blame Tamron Hall for deciding to leave Today. Megyn Kelly's relocation to NBC meant that Hall and Al Roker would be ousted from their hour-long hosting gig on Today. Hall still would have contributed to Today, but in a different capacity and probably not as prominently. Her contract was expiring anyway, so the time may have just felt right for Tamron Hall to move on from NBC. Throw in the fact that Hall reportedly got the news about losing her Today slot to Megyn Kelly only minutes before she had to go on the air, and I'd say she has some pretty good reasons for wanting a fresh start.

That said, Tamron Hall doesn't appear to have a new job lined up just yet. She was apparently offered a pretty generous new contract to stay on with NBC, but it must not have been what she was looking for in the next stage of her career. Hopefully she can find a new home on a new network sooner rather than later. If Greta Van Susteren could do it, why not Tamron Hall?

It should be interesting to see how Today moves forward without Tamron Hall. Megyn Kelly will continue on Fox News until July, and she won't start on Today until the fall. The show could leave Al Roker by his lonesome during the hour, assign him a new screen partner until Kelly arrives to take over the slot in the fall, or bring in temporary co-hosts to share the spotlight with Roker. We'll have to wait and see.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule to discover what you can catch on primetime in the near future.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).