ET, allowing NBC stations to also accommodate programs from The More You Know block displaced from their normal timeslots to fulfill educational content quotas.
NBC News national correspondent (and eventual co-anchor of the weekday edition of Today) Katie Couric, Deborah Norville, Faith Daniels and Mary Alice Williams became substitute anchors during Shriver's absence.
Amy Robach, Natalie Morales and Melissa Francis rotated as news anchor during much of the Brown and Holt era (2003–2007).
In March 2020, the Saturday edition abruptly relocated production to NBC News' Washington, D.C. bureau, originating from the Meet the Press studio, in order to limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission to the anchors via air travel.
As with the weekday edition, the program offers visitors to New York City the chance to observe the workings of a live television broadcast firsthand with its windowed studio at Rockefeller Plaza.
On August 9, 2023, Laura Jarrett, senior legal correspondent was named new co-host starting September 9, replacing Welker who became the new moderator of Meet The Press.
Occasionally, Hallie Jackson, Morgan Radford, Kate Snow, Kristen Welker, Vicky Nguyen, Yamiche Alcindor, Jose Diaz-Balart, Tom Llamas, Willie Geist, Joe Fryer, Jacob Soboroff, Gadi Schwartz, Gabe Gutierrez and Garrett Haake fill-in for Alexander and Jarrett.
Co-hosts Alexander and Jarrett, Hallie Jackson, Morgan Radford, Vicky Nguyen and Yamiche Alcindor fill-in for Fryer.
Scherzo for Today was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and the Mission bumpers were used until 1993 (one of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's Meet The Press until 2004).
On April 6, 2003, the death of co-anchor David Bloom in Iraq (caused by a blood clot resulting from Deep vein thrombosis) dominated that day's edition.
Soledad O'Brien, Matt Lauer, and Katie Couric stationed in Washington DC, hosted a special edition of Today in remembrance of Bloom.
When Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, April 2, 2005, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer anchored the weekend editions of Today.
Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe moved outside to Rockefeller Center to cover the first papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
On June 14, 2008, a special edition of Saturday Today, anchored by Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw, discussed the death of NBC News Washington bureau chief and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert.
Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, Pete Williams, Lisa Myers, the moderators of Meet the Press's competing Sunday morning talk shows, Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation and George Stephanopoulos of This Week, and Vice President Dick Cheney, among others, appeared to share their memories of Russert.
On April 30, 2011, Natalie Morales and Al Roker anchored a special edition of Weekend Today from London to cover the wedding of Prince William and the former Kate Middleton.
On May 19, 2018, a special Saturday edition was anchored by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb with weather by Al Roker to cover the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was live at Windsor, England.
[4] On August 28, 2018, a special Sunday edition was anchored by Kristen Welker filling in for Willie Geist to cover the death of Sen. John McCain.