NBC News veteran, Today alum makes surprise return to network 2 years after exit

NBC News veteran, Today alum Harry Smith makes surprise return to network 2 years after exit

Smith, who left NBC News in 2024, will host a new contributing segment.

Hoda Kotb, Sheinelle Jones, and Harry Smith on ‘Today’.Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

NBC News vet and Today alum Harry Smith will return to the network.
Smith previously exited in early 2024.
The journalist said he’s “thrilled to have the opportunity” to return.

NBC News veteran and Today show alum Harry Smith will return to the network after a two-year absence.

Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Smith, 75, is set to host a new on-air segment called “Common Good” that will feature stories across Today, NBC Nightly News, and live events that air on NBC News. (EW’s sister publication PEOPLE was first to report.)

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do what I have done for so long: tell America’s story,” Smith told the outlet in a statement. “I have long believed that there is more that unites us than divides us. It’s in our bones. It’s part of America’s DNA.”

NBC veteran Harry Smith on ‘Today’.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Smith previously left NBC in 2024, following 12 years with the network that spanned on-air segments across several shows and stints on the iconic Today show’s various editions. He regularly appeared on NBC Nightly News and hosted his “Sundays With Harry” segment on Today’s weekend broadcasts.

The longtime on-air personality returns to NBC beginning Monday, at a live “Common Ground” event hosted by the network.

Smith’s first subject back on air is Kelly Hall-Tompkins, the Music Kitchen founder, who will speak about working as a doctor and musician.

Longtime NBC personality Savannah Guthrie and Mike Tirico will lead the event, with Smith’s segment is set to air during it.

EW has reached out to NBC News representatives for comment on Smith’s return.

Smith and his peers commemorated his exit from NBC in March 2024 on the Today show, where on-air hosts gathered to say goodbye to the vet.

Harry Smith in New York City.Jamie McCarthy/Getty

“Every time I would come on this show, I was welcomed so generously,” Smith said at the time. “I’ve had just this unbelievable array of phenomenal experiences since coming to NBC, and so I’m really full of nothing but gratitude.”