Al Roker Gives Glimpse at Light-Hearted Mid-Show Ritual in New Video
Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker
Al Roker is letting Today Show viewers in on a little bit of frivolous fun as he details the cast's mid-show ritual halfway through the first hour.
The meteorologist was down to the wire ahead of Nov. 8's second half-hour, giving a frenetic rundown of the rather organized chaos that ensues to switch the NBC series' sets in a new video.
“This is one of the best parts of the morning,” he said from behind the camera as he turned from some of the neck backstage to show his colleagues standing on the stage just minutes before premiering for the day at 7:30 am.
Several cameras were rolled off the set as a tech named Mikey headed past Roker, where he leaned down over a console to push a button that would cause the rotating stage to spin.
“So, Mikey gives the word and here we go!” He waited for stage manager Chris Reilly to ensure it was safe to go before turning the set into “the carousel of anchors.”
Hoda Kotb sat obliviously in her chair, enraptured by something on her phone, which Roker later explained was a video call with her daughters, while Savannah Guthrie gave an emphatic wave to mimic the motion.
“See that? And we get ready for our 7:30 spin half hour,” Roker continued, shouting out “Marathon Yosef” Herzog as he walked past, joking that he could “do 26.2 miles on the carousel.”
Then, the cameras all got repositioned as operator Anthony led “the parade.”
Guthrie only just realized that Roker was filming as she stretched her arms above her head, encouraging Kotb to wave as he made another round.
The teleprompters for the anchors came into place and Sheinelle Jones joined the other at the desk as they prepared to go live.
“And there you have it, it’s the big spin; the reposition for our 7:30 half-hour. You got to see it, nobody else does.”
"It’s the 7:25 spin of our @todayshow set. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!" he wrote alongside the behind-the-scene clip, which was uploaded to Instagram mid-show.
Fans love the little tidbits Roker sometimes shares, thanking him for the secret-feeling glimpse into the inner-workings of the popular show.
"I love how you go live and let us see behind the scenes. I find this very interesting! Thank you Al ??," one wrote.
"Good morning Al! That’s so cool! ??," another said.
Roker frequently shares tidbits from his life on social media, recently delighting fans as he cheered on Jones all along the route as she ran the New York City Marathon and keeping fans up to date on life with his new granddaughter.
Next: Al Roker's On-Air Blunder Gets a Big Reaction from His 'Today' Co-Hosts
