Time will only tell if the Today show hosts will be able to stand the man that has been hired by the network to replace Jamie Horowitz or if the cast will once again have to rally Matt Lauer to have the new boss fired -- same as the old one. According to the latest gossip news updates, however, most of the crew should remember new showrunner, Noah Oppenheim, from the good old day when they use to crush Good Morning America in the ratings. While the Today show's numbers have suffered ever since Lauer reportedly forced Ann Curry out, there is no way that the former co-host will be returning to her old anchor desk anytime soon. After working for almost 25 years at NBC News, Curry has announced she is quitting to join a media startup backed by NBCUniversal.
NBC's bold move to bring in former ESPN executive, Jamie Horowitz, epically backfired in just 10 short weeks, when the network let Horowitz go following multiple reports that Matt Lauer demanded that he be removed.
Thankfully for NBC and the rest of the cast, new showrunner, Noah Oppenheim, already has a history of working on the show with some of its current cast and crew in the mid-2000s when the show was still on top of the ratings.
While it is true that Oppenheim should have a far better rapport with the Today show talent right out of the gate than his predecessor, Variety hypothesizes that the move may have more to do with long term strategy than it does just appeasing the talent:
"Oppenheim is in some ways a mirror of Ben Sherwood, the onetime Good Morning America producer who left that show to try his hand at creative endeavors and then returned to the fold as president of ABC News and boosted that program past its competitor."
After noting that the Today show ratings slide started shortly after the dismissal of Ann Curry, it might seem like the smartest thing would be to just ask Curry to return, but it's already too late for all that.
Just this past Thursday, Ann confirmed on her Facebook page that she was leaving NBC News after more than two decades of employment to focus on her new NBCUniversal backed startup (via Us Weekly):
"This is about reaching for the edge of the future in journalism, which we know is undergoing an irrevocable transition.
"Thinking how lucky I am...So many of you have so generously sent love and encouragement. I am, because of you. With gratitude and great love back."
Now we have to truly ask ourselves...without Ann Curry is there really any hope left for television.
