Carson Daly's morning call just got a lot earlier now that the late-night talk show host will be permanently joining the panel of co-anchors on NBC's "Today," the show announced Thursday.
Daly was already pulling double duty for NBC as host of "The Voice" and the late-night staple "Last Call with Carson Daly." Now,
he'll host a new "Today" feature called "Orange Room," according to TheWrap.com.
NBC said Daly would continue to host and produce "The Voice," which begins its fifth season Sept. 23, but plans are in motion for him to
transition out of "Last Call with Carson Daly," Entertainment Weekly reported.
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NBC said plans for a new "Last Call" host "will be announced at a later date."
"Everything I’ve done in my career up until this point has trained me for 'Today,' – the interviews, the live TV, the live radio – it all gets paid off," Daly said Thursday on the morning show. "I was playing in the minor leagues and now I’ve just been called up to the big leagues."
Daly has made plenty of guest appearances on "Today," filling in for Matt Lauer and Kathie Lee Gifford on occassion, but he now formalizes his presence on the long-running program.
In the "Orange Room" social media segment, Daly will "allow viewers to weigh in and influence show segments and give them unprecedented access to our 'Today' family and friends," TheWrap.com wrote.
"When I got the call about being permanently on 'Today' and launching the 'Orange Room,' it was like a dream come true," he said. "You know that scene in 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' where Charlie peels back the wrapper and finds the golden ticket? I felt like I got the golden ticket."
The "Orange Room" will be familiar territory for Daly, the former host of MTV's fan-generated "Total Request Live." Daly, in fact, once described "Today" as "TRL for grownups."
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