What To Know
- The Today hosts unveiled the newly renovated Orange Room, now called the Today Lounge.
- Carson Daly previously launched the Orange Room when he joined the NBC morning show back in 2013.
- The set renovation was done ahead of the show’s 75th anniversary celebrations early next year.
A familiar section of Today‘s Studio 1A received a special makeover ahead of the NBC morning show’s upcoming 75th anniversary.
On Tuesday, November 3, Today aired a throwback clip from one of Carson Daly‘s first days on the show, in which he showed off the then-brand-new Orange Room to Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, and former co-host Natalie Morales.
“This room, the Orange Room, has a lot of different capacities. Obviously, when we’re on the broadcast, like we are right now, we can hopefully add to the stories that you guys are doing right over there,” he explained during the September 2013 episode. “We’re also a fully functioning digital space where a lot of our content will live directly at Today.com. We’ll be shooting original content in here. But really, the main point of this room is to break that wall down and connect with our viewers at home.”
Following the clip, Daly remarked, “Look at that. I had to create my own little world here just to be a part of this historic show. We were the nexus point between the broadcast and the audience at home.”
Daly joined Today in 2013 as the host of “Orange Room” segments before later transitioning into a full-time co-hosting role. He currently leads the show’s daily “PopStart” segments and occasionally fills in for his absent colleagues, most recently joining Laura Jarrett as a temporary co-anchor on Weekend Today.
On Tuesday, Guthrie noted that the show has been “lacking a real orange space for a while.” The show then shared footage of the newly renovated Orange Room, now called the Today Lounge.
“That’s where our digital producers capture content,” Craig Melvin said of how the space will be used going forward. “They post on social media throughout the morning. It’s a thing. It’s been renovated.”
Speaking of the throwback clip, Guthrie added, “We’re gonna keep showing these little moments from the archives as we count down to this milestone anniversary. We’re under 75 days and counting now.” (Today will celebrate 75 years on the air in January.)
Fans shared their memories of the Orange Room and their reactions to the Today Lounge on social media. “I remember thinking is Carson taking TRL to the Today Show when he mentioned connecting to the audience at home,” one Instagram user quipped. Another wrote, “I was wondering what happened to the orange room! The puppies with a purpose were in that area.”
Someone else shared, “I remember watching and thinking the orange lounge was the coolest thing ever.” A different person posted, “Aww, Carson has been such a great addition! I wish Natalie Morales was still on the show.” A separate commenter stated, “Holy cr*p, I remember watching that live as a nerdy kid and being so excited lol… time flies.”
Today, Weekdays, 7 am/6c, NBC
