he morning of June 18 on NBC’s TODAY Show looked very different once again, as several of its key anchors were absent from their usual slots.

As the show returned from Father’s Day weekend, business resumed as usual with Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin in their usual chairs. But those started shifting as the week went on.

Al Roker, the show’s meteorologist, left Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City for Bentonville, Arkansas, to attend the Bentonville Film Festival, led by actress Geena Davis.

Geena Davis and Al Roker at In Conversation with Al Roker at the 11th Annual Bentonville Film Festival at Crystal Bridges on June 17, 2025 in Bentonville, Arkansas© Getty Images
Al attended the Bentonville Film Festival, hosted by Geena Davis

Meanwhile, Dylan Dreyer also took off from NY after spending Father’s Day with her husband Brian Fichera and their three sons for the other side of the country, aka Anchorage, Alaska.

She will help host a very special edition of the Third Hour of TODAY spotlighting the Summer Solstice, scheduled this year for June 20. On Wednesday, Al flew in from Arkansas to Alaska for the segment as well.

The latest edition of the Third Hour, on June 18, featured a previously recorded episode with Craig, Al and Dylan in their usual spots.

Dylan Dreyer, Al Roker and Kaylee Hartung take a photo beside a train in Alaska on assignment for TODAY, shared on Instagram© Instagram
Dylan and Al are in Alaska covering the Summer Solstice

On the regular 7-9 AM hours, though, another shake-up occurred as well, with Savannah also taking off for more international waters. She flew to France to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, covering for the network.

Craig hosted the morning show with Laura Jarrett, saying Savannah was “still on assignment,” with the morning weather instead presented by meteorologist for Saturday TODAY Angie Lassman.

The moves continue, though, as Dylan herself will say goodbye to Alaska after a short visit and head across the pond to the United Kingdom to cover the Royal Ascot, as she has each year.

Savannah Guthrie poses for a photo atop the steps of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025 in France, shared on Instagram Stories© Instagram
Savannah is in France covering the Cannes Lions Festival

Last year, Dylan spoke exclusively with HELLO! about her adventures at the Ascot, including trying to sneak a photo of the late Queen Elizabeth II while there, and almost landing herself in international hot water.

“We were on the back side of the track where they give out the trophies and everything and there’s the glass area where the winners sit and or the people who are distributing the trophy,” she recalled.

“And Queen Elizabeth was there and her back was to me, but she had her hat on and these amazing earrings and I took a selfie with her in the background.”

Laura and Peter will host Weekend Today © NBC
Laura Jarrett stepped in to host with Craig on the first two hours of TODAY

Things quickly took a turn, and she continued: “As soon as I took the selfie, someone said ‘You can’t take pictures here,’ and I’m like, ‘I know, I’m sorry,’ and walked away, but I still have that selfie!” Dylan also covers the Kentucky Derby for TODAY, and explained what exactly made them so different.

“The biggest difference is at the Kentucky Derby, it’s all day but then everything ends,” she said. “There’s the main race and then when that happens, it’s a mad dash to get out of there. And then you go to Royal Ascot and the day is kind of different. In the morning there’s a lot of families and there’s kids around and you know, everybody’s there for the royal procession and then the horse race happens.”

The mom-of-three added: “Then when the horse racing ends, then the party starts over by the band stand, and everybody’s there to have this sing-along and this big party and nobody’s rushing out of there. It’s like the whole day was leading up to that part of the day.”