Mary Carillo to replace Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage

NBC has officially made a last-minute change to its coverage of the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony this Friday.

The network has named Mary Carillo, a veteran Olympics broadcaster covering her 17th Games, to replace Savannah Guthrie during the Opening Ceremony. Guthrie, the longtime host of NBC’s flagship morning program Today, will not be traveling to Italy for this year’s Olympic Games as her family tends to the case of her 84-year-old mother who went missing over the weekend. Carillo will be joined by Terry Gannon as co-host of the Opening Ceremony, with former Olympic gold-medalist Shaun White appearing during the Parade of Athletes.

“Our hearts go out to Savannah and the entire Guthrie family. They continue to have our full support,” Molly Solomon, executive producer of NBC’s Olympic coverage said in a press release. “We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented commentators who will step in and fill these roles. Mary is one of the most experienced Olympic commentators ever and a master storyteller. She and Terry will lead the American audience through one of the world’s greatest global moments.”

After her Opening Ceremony assignment, Carillo will serve as a SportsDesk reporter throughout the remainder of the Olympics.

In addition to Guthrie’s absence, her Today show co-anchor Craig Melvin will also remain stateside. Melvin was initially scheduled to host Olympic Late Night from Feb. 7-9. That role will now be filled by NBC Sports anchor Ahmed Fareed, who will add those assignments to his scheduled daytime responsibilities. Maria Taylor will take over the Late Night window on Feb. 10, once she arrives in Milan following her Super Bowl LX assignment.

“With his skill and versatility, Ahmed has proven time and again he can step into any hosting role, and we’re thrilled he’s available to handle our late night coverage before heading to Los Angeles for NBA All-Star Weekend,” Solomon said.