Jenna Bush Hager will host the fourth hour with rotating guests

Craig Melvin will co-anchor the Today show alongside Savannah Guthrie following news of Hoda Kotb‘s departure.

Nearly two months after Kotb announced that she was stepping away from her anchoring duties after 17 years to focus on her kids, NBC named Melvin, 45, her permanent replacement on Thursday, Nov. 14.

Melvin — who currently hosts the third hour of Today alongside Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer — will host three hours in a row starting on Monday, Jan. 13, following Kotb’s last day on the show, Friday, Jan. 10.

The two-time Emmy Award winner and South Carolina native began working on Today in 2018 when he was promoted to a weekday news anchor, after working on MSNBC and NBC News. Melvin married sports broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak in 2011, and they share two children, son Delano and daughter Sybil.

Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin in a March 2020 episode of 'Today'

“Craig is a super talented anchor. He’s very well-rounded. He has all the things you want to fill this role. Hoda has two really big jobs and they’re taking it one step at a time, figuring it all out,” a source tells PEOPLE.

The fourth hour of Today, which Kotb currently co-hosts alongside Jenna Bush Hager, will feature a rotating panel of guest co-hosts.

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Craig Melvin
It will be Today with Jenna and Friends until a new host is named,” the source tells PEOPLE, noting that it will also feature “fun surprises.”

“It’ll be a full-bodied rotation of people. Some expected, some who are in the family already and some unexpected. They don’t know where it’s going to land,” says the source.

Alliance for Women in Media Foundation/Getty Images Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager in a October 2021 episode of 'Today with Hoda & Jenna'

In a letter to staff, Kotb announced her departure from the Today show, saying it was “the right decision, but it’s a painful one.”

“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited,” she said, noting that she will still be a part of the network in some capacity.”Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart. I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine,” she wrote.