LIVIGNO, Italy – Mary Carillo will host NBC’s 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony coverage after original host Savannah Guthrie stepped down, as her mother Nancy remains missing.
Carillo and Terry Gannon, who was originally Guthrie’s co-host for the ceremony, will anchor the show, which starts at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 6.
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for an unknown amount of time from her Arizona home. A Feb. 1 911 call reported her absence. Authorities believe she ‘was taken.’ TMZ and a local CBS affiliate reported that their news outlets received ransom notes, but authorities have not verified their authenticity.
Savannah Guthrie hosted the Thanksgiving Day parade in November and was part of the opening ceremony coverage two years ago at the Summer Games in Paris.
‘Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time,’ an NBC spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement on Feb. 3.
NBC has its talent resources spread heading into the weekend. The network is airing Super Bowl 60 on Feb. 8, with Mike Tirico – the typical Olympics primetime host – on the call. His presence in northern California, along with others capable of performing the job such as Maria Taylor, complicated matters for NBC.
Tirico will travel to Milan and anchor the primetime coverage from there after the Super Bowl.
Carillo lived for two years in Milan as a child, according to NBC. She hosted three closing ceremonies, the most recent being Rio in 2016. Shaun White will be in the booth for the parade of athletes, as previously announced.