By Molly Goddard
11:48am PST, Mar 7, 2025
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Lester Holt's
NBC Nightly News replacement has been revealed.
On Wednesday, March 5, EVP of Programming
Janelle Rodriguez announced to staffers that current
Top Story host and Senior National Correspondent
Tom Llamas will take over for the departing
anchor after his final broadcast this summer.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Holt's successor and his prior work experience…
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After Rodriguez relayed the message to employees at the company, the
exec released a statement reading, "Tom [Llamas] has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity — all characteristics that have long been trademarks of
NBC Nightly News."
"Additionally, he's been instrumental in growing
NBC News Now into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers," she continued, emphasizing how Llamas has long been a part of the family.
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Llamas revealed his excitement over this new chapter of his career and the network in a note of his own: "I look forward to working with the world-class journalists at
Nightly News and
Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night," the 45-year-old wrote, calling the job "a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility."
The Florida native began his career as an intern at a local Telemundo station. After graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism from Loyola University, he started his journey at NBC News and
MSNBC.
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In 2014, Llamas left NBC to work as a fill-in for
David Muir on
ABC World News Tonight. The media star returned to NBC in 2021.
In the past, the television personality — who has three kids — reported on high-stakes events like the Israel-Hamas war, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the July 2024 assassination attempt on President
Donald Trump. Llamas also occasionally makes appearances on the
Today show.
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On February 24, Holt announced he would be leaving the news desk after a decade: "The time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of
Nightly News. It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do," he wrote in a memo to staff members, according to
The Wrap.
The
Dateline host also put his support behind Llamas filling his slot: "We spoke on the phone today and I told him, it's not only one of the great jobs, but it's a great staff he's inheriting," Holt reportedly told his team, according to
People.
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"I know you all will give [Llamas] your 100% support as you make the transition," Holt reportedly said.
The veteran broadcaster gave his successor vital words of
wisdom before assuming his new role: "As I told him, it's important to make the broadcast his — and you will over time — so we'll make this transition work. But I'm happy, happy for Tom and his family — and crush it my friend," Holt said.
