There’s been a good bit of concern for famed weatherman Al Roker, as he’s been in and out of the hospital for the past couple of months. So it’s no wonder that his Today colleagues had a little extra pep in their step during the December 9 program, as Hoda Kotb announced that Roker was able to return home from his second stay in the hospital. The crew celebrated the good news, and Carson Daly offered an amusing take on why their colleague needed to get back to work with a quickness!
The beloved mainstay on the Today show told fans in November that a blood clot had been discovered in his leg and lungs that had caused his absence from the set of the NBC morning show. Upon the announcement of his release, The A-Team theme played in the background — apparently a favorite of Al Roker’s — and Carson Daly revealed that he offered his colleague a little extra incentive to get well soon. Daly said:
I sent him a picture yesterday. I walked by his office here, and I wrote him a text, I said, ‘Al, you gotta come back, because this is turning into Hoda’s, like, third closet. There are racks of clothes in there. You gotta get back!
So many things about this are amusing. One, that Hoda Kotb would take Al Roker’s absence as an opportunity to expand her own personal space in the NBC offices, and secondly that Carson Daly would rat Kotb out like that. With photographic evidence, no less! Just as funny was the weatherman's response, as he apparently confronted the co-anchor who had claimed his space as her own. Kotb informed The Voice host:
Carson, he sent me that picture! He said, ‘Oh,’ something like, ‘My work wife is now taking over my closet.’
Apparently everyone is just now referring to Al Roker’s office as Hoda Kotb’s closet. Regardless of happens with the space long-term, it’ll undoubtedly be a happy day all around — for the Today anchors, fans and Roker himself — when he is able to return to the NBC morning show.
The weatherman was forced to miss his first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 27 years as he continued to recover from complications from the blood clots. While he posted pictures to Instagram enjoying the parade and the holiday from his house following his release from the hospital, further complications required that he make a return trip by ambulance the following day.
Al Roker’s wife Deborah Roberts found herself in an upsetting predicament as her husband was rushed back to the hospital, when her Tesla apparently malfunctioned and would not unlock. She was seen trying to break one of the Tesla’s windows so she could retrieve her phone and other possessions but was reportedly unsuccessful, and she ended up taking a taxi to reunite with her husband.
Concerns about Al Roker’s health have popped up periodically over the past couple of years. In 2020 Roker revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, saying months later that he felt good after undergoing surgery and felt lucky to have caught it early. In 2021 he traveled to cover Hurricane Ida at the age of 67, and jokingly said, “Screw you,” to those questioning if he was “too old” to be doing that kind of work.
Al Roker’s never been without that optimistic attitude, and hopefully we’ll all be able to see that again for ourselves on Today soon. Our best wishes go out to Roker for a fast recovery. Be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what’s coming to your screens in the new year.
