Gretchen Carlson has mostly been keeping a low profile after getting fired by Fox News and subsequently alleging she had been harassed by Roger Ailes. The move opened the door for other women to share their problems with Ailes at Fox News and he eventually resigned from his position. For her part in the change-ups, Gretchen Carlson reportedly earned a sizable sum from a lawsuit she had filed, and she's mostly taken a break from the spotlight since then. However, the TV journalist recently revealed she's going to host an episode of Today, and very soon.
This week, Gretchen Carlson revealed that she is headed to Today on January 3, just a few days into the new year. She'll be guest hosting during the 9 a.m. hour of Today, which has had trouble finding a longterm replacement after Billy Bush left Today following controversy from filmed footage during a former Access Hollywood session with Donald Trump. While the hour will eventually need to find a long-term host, this gig is only expected to be a guest stint and not the sign of larger things to come, per Variety. However, in Carlson's Twitter post, the news anchor says to "join her on NBC for announcements," which makes it seem as if she'll have interesting news of some sort coming.
Today has been going through a ratings resurgence recently after losing to Good Morning America for the last few years. Last week, the NBC early morning show managed to grab the top ratings for a non-Olympics coverage month on the network, pulling in 4.79 million viewers on average and beating out today in the 25-54 advertising demographic. Hopefully an appearance from the former Fox News talking head will only help to boost the ratings somewhat.
As noted prior, Gretchen Carlson hasn't been doing much on television since she was fired from Fox News back in July. She did appear in a 20/20 episode about crossing lines in the workplace that aired in November, but otherwise she's pretty much been out of the spotlight since she and Fox News came to terms back in September, in a deal that reportedly netted Carlson millions. In fact, the Today appearance will actually be the first time that Gretchen Carlson has had an on-air gig since she was dropped by Fox News. It'll be interesting to see how she does back in front of the camera again.
We'll find out soon enough whether or not the guest stint is a good fit. January 3 is only a couple of days from now, so be sure to tune in to Today. In addition, you can find out when TV is returning with our midseason TV premiere schedule.
