“Jenna & Friends” has found a permanent pal.
Sheinelle Jones, the “Today” veteran who has gained notice over the years by co-anchoring the weekend and 9 a.m. weekday editions of the NBC News morning franchise, will become the permanent co-host at 10 a.m. with Jenna Bush Hager, according to two people familiar with the matter. Jones is expected to join Bush Hager live at 10 a.m. Tuesday to announce the new arrangement formally to viewer, according to one of these people.
NBC News declined to make executives or hosts available for comment. Talia Parkinson-Jones, the hour’s executive producer, is expected to remain in that role. Jones will begin appearing as co-host starting January 12, and is likely to continue to appear during earlier “Today” hours.
NBC is betting that Jones’ warmth and and Bush Hager’s spirit will make for a formidable combination in TV’s never-ending battle for daytime audience. The 10 a.m. hour represents NBC’s bid to compete for live viewership in the late mornings, and to carve out some of the ground also tilled by ABC’s syndicated “Live,” with spouses Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, or CBS’ “Drew Barrymore.” The network has long called upon the hosts of “Today” at 10 a.m. to be looser than their colleagues in the show’s earlier hours. And they may need to be. In this era of digital media, there’s a wider field of rivals to consider, with everything from Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast to any number of TikTok personalities dispensing advice and inspiration.
NBC launched Bush Hager as the lead in the hour earlier this year after her longtime co-host Hoda Kotb stepped away from daily work for NBC News. As part of the process, Bush Hager has been paired with a rotating group of colleagues and celebrities that ranged from Evan Longoria and Taraji P. Henson to cast members from “Saturday Night Live.”
“I feel like our audience deserves the time to get to know a ton of different people, ton of different backgrounds. We’re hoping to pull up the chairs to all different types of people,” Bush Hager told Variety earlier this year. “I think there will be some surprises for sure. And so it’s like when we know, I think we’ll know.”
NBC News has found success in recent years by moving various “Today” personalities to bigger roles when they open. The current co-anchors of “Today’s” flagship hours, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, both had roles at 9 a.m. before getting their current assignment. Hoda Kotb was made a co-anchor with Guthrie at 7 a.m. after working for years at 10 a.m. with Kathie Lee Gifford.
Audiences have watched Jones struggle through some difficult times. She was absent from NBC’s airwaves for the better part of 2025 as she cared for her ailing husband, Uche Ojeh, who succumbed to brain cancer in May. Jones returned to her on-screen duties in September, and audiences have remained interested in her well-being. She has been seen as a leading candidate for the 10 a.m. co-anchor role for several months, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Network executives no doubt expect Bush Hager and Jones to grow into a duo that enjoys a rapport akin to the one between Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford or Kotb and Bush Hager.
Jones has a more traditional news background, while Bush Hager came to NBC News’ attention via her family and her early-career education work.
Jones worked her way up through various TV stations as an anchor and correspondent, moving from local stations in Illinois and Oklahoma to a seat at Philadelphia’s WTXF, a Fox station, before joining NBC News in 2014. At one point, she was co-anchoring both the 9 a.m. weekday hour of “Today” as well as the weekend edition of the show.
Bush Hager, meanwhile, never envisioned herself as the host of a morning program when considering a career. She initially was a teacher at a charter school in Washington, D.C., before getting into writing. She was noticed within a few years of publishing her first book by NBC, which has developed a reputation for being interested in members of well-known U.S. political families, and has hired Maria Shriver, as well as, for a shorter period, Chelsea Clinton. Bush Hager is the daughter of former President George W. Bush.
Bush Hager has become known in recent years for building a book-club franchise for NBC — a reflection of a personal pastime inspired by her mother’s work as a librarian.
In addition to the books that might get a spotlight on the show in weeks to come, Jones and Bush Hager will have to read something else — each other.
