Feelgood story of the week: Megyn Kelly’s ‘Today’ hour is bombing so hard

Megyn Kelly today as seen on NBC.

In these troubled times, there are few bright spots. We need to find joy wherever we can. So I’m finding my joy from the fact that Megyn Kelly sucks on morning TV. She’s awkward, she’s terrible, she has all of the warmth of a gutter snake. She smirks when she should be grimacing. She isn’t a journalist, nor is she an accessible celebrity. She really isn’t good at anything. And what’s great about all of this is that the audience agrees: her “hour” of the Today Show is bombing. Hard.

The numbers are in, and “Megyn Kelly Today” is dragging down the “Today” show franchise, an insider explained to Page Six.

“Not only are ratings plummeting since Megyn Kelly joined the ‘Today’ franchise, but the numbers show Kelly’s lead-in has also affected Kathie Lee [Gifford] and Hoda Kotb’s show, which follows straight afterwards,” a source said. “They’ve taken a huge hit with Megyn as their lead-in.”

Kelly’s hour of “Today” is down 32 percent compared to a year ago. And “Kathie Lee & Hoda” is down 26 percent.

“Too many people are tuning out NBC. Hoda and Kathie Lee had been a bright spot in the mornings. People are alarmed,” the source said of the slide. Another source told us that “Today” talent is concerned.

“The format for Megyn’s show doesn’t make sense. Her show distracts from the ‘Today’ franchise,” the second source said.

Making matters worse, Kelly split from power publicist Leslee Dart last month, and she’s been dogged by controversy from her awkward Debra Messing flap and Jane Fonda interview. But an NBC insider told us things aren’t all bad for Kelly. “Megyn posted her highest ratings yet in the ‘key demographic’ on Monday, and she had her biggest total viewer number since the premiere . . . Everyone knows that ratings fluctuate at the start of a new show, and there has been nothing but support for Megyn from all of the ‘Today’ show hosts. They have each taken her out to lunch — Kathie Lee just took her to lunch today.”

[From Page Six]

What is the current thinking of nurture-versus-nature accessibility? Like, can Megyn be taught how to be more relatable and morning-TV-friendly? I kind of doubt it. I think that this is just who she is: unlikeable. I also think that NBC is going to try to “fix” the problem by merely rejiggering the format. While it will help Megyn to have a more intimate, less-audience-intensive show, let’s also be honest: she will still suck at this. Congrats, NBC! You spent $23 million on someone no one wants to see in the mornings and you gave her prime real estate in your most valuable morning-show property. HA! NBC should have saved the money and put it into Hoda & Kathy Lee’s booze budget.

Megyn Kelly today as seen on NBC.

Photos courtesy of WENN/NBC.

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49 Responses to “Feelgood story of the week: Megyn Kelly’s ‘Today’ hour is bombing so hard”

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  1. Neelyo says:

    Megyn and NBC can both suck it. They deserve each other.

  2. Jerusha says:

    Matt Lauer and Megyn Kelly-two giant stinkbombs in the mirning.

    • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

      What NBC needs is Al Roker co-chairing with Tamron Hall ( too bad they cannot also get Meredith Viera and Anne Curry, but that will *never*ever* happen*. Then follow up with lovely and charming Hoda and crazy Kathy Lee. No one else need apply.

      I don’t watch morning news anymore. The personalities and fluff are unappealing.

  3. Clare says:

    I don’t know about anyone else, but I would certainly change the channel when this woman comes on.

    Not surprised by the terrible numbers.

    • Giddy says:

      I would change the channel, turn off the tv, leave the room, etc. Whatever I had to do to avoid ruining my day by starting out with this cold woman. She is surely missing an empathy gene.

  4. Ann says:

    I said it last week and I’ll say it again: Bring back Mary Hart! They looks so similar but unlike Megyn who is clueless and awful Mary Hart is engaging and lovely. It would hit that 90s nostalgia sweet spot too. Mary Hart would probably also cost way less, until she’s a hit, which she totally would be!

    • Tiffany says:

      Or bring back the duo that were kicking backside in that slot, Al and Tamron.

    • TQB says:

      I love this idea! Where is Mary? She’s terrific.

      • holly hobby says:

        Mary retired after many years at Entertainment Tonight. I’m sure she’s enjoying life right now!

    • denisemich says:

      Well they can certainly get Tamron back now. Harvey Weinstein was producing her new show. Bring Al and Tamron back.

    • magnoliarose says:

      Who the heck is Mary Hart?
      That is my first reaction and then my second is HAHAHAHAHA Tamron was the reason everything else worked fools. I am so so so enjoying seeing blondie nastybot burn and flame out.

  5. Starfish says:

    I had a baby in February and the Today Show helped me survive the first three months of newborn exhaustion. I watched it every morning and became a big fan of Dylan Dreyer and surprisingly Jenna Bush Hager. I’m so glad I’m not home on maternity leave anymore because Megyn Kelly in this role is just awful. It’s seriously unwatchable. Putting a Dr. Phil-type show smack in the middle of the Today Show lineup doesn’t make any sense, no matter who the host is. I hope they cancel this and go back to the old format.

    • TQB says:

      I like Jenna. She’s smart, personable, and warm. Not surprising as I always had a weak spot for her mother. Heck, who wouldn’t take Laura B. back over Melania?

      • third ginger says:

        This lifelong Democrat likes Jenna, too. And her kids are adorable.

      • Molly says:

        I like Jenna too! Smart, personable, and warm is exactly how I’d describe her. Plus, I’m a sucker for close siblings, and I love how much she and her sister support each other.

      • CynicalAnn says:

        Jenna is darling. The Bushes did something right because both of their daughters are great.

  6. island_girl says:

    Good. She’s awful and so is NBC.

  7. minx says:

    A mauve pussy bow blouse, hello 1983.

  8. Tiffany says:

    You’re right Kaiser, I do feel better knowing this information.

    *Whistles and skips to the water cooler*

  9. TQB says:

    This does indeed brighten my morning, thank you. And yes, just add $$ to KL and Hoda’s booze budget.

    • third ginger says:

      Yes. Also, a televised “intervention” with Hoda and Kathy Lee setting Megan straight about morning TV and the whole concept of entertainment.

  10. third ginger says:

    How did I manage to catch even 10 minutes of this train wreck? I was In the waiting room of a doctor’s office just this morning. The show is excruciating. Stay tuned. Not to HER, but for whatever NBC will decide to do.

  11. happyoften says:

    She can’t hide her nastiness, is the problem. No matter what, it just up and smacks you in the face.

  12. sunnydaze says:

    After the venom she spewed while on Fox…no. No, no, NO. I will NEVER forgive her for her participation in the Fox machine. While I’m happy she left and give her a slow clap for standing up to harassment, that’s as far as I can extend any good will. She should not have been given a platform anywhere else. Shame on NBC and Today for allowing her to start fresh after all the horrible stories she willingly participated in at Fox.

    If you aren’t familiar, go to YouTube and search “Megyn Kelly John Oliver” It’s the clip titled “Last Week Tonight and Now, This:” It’s awful. She’s a POS and she’s part of the machine that allowed Trump to happen. All the shame on her.

  13. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I’m personally thankful for the stats. She’s a terrible option for any kind of social interaction including interviews of any kind. Maybe she should think about a strictly news job, I don’t know, but she’s a fem bot. I normally can’t tolerate The Today Show past 8 or 9, but if her mug makes an entry, the channel is quickly changed. I never really noticed until this thread, but I can’t listen to her at all lol. Granted I don’t feel like puking like I do with you-know-who (that which shall not be named), but still. She’s a bad decision.

  14. Beth says:

    Trump must be happy. He recently said NBC is disgusting and wants to permanently end the channel. Everyone knows that he hates Megyn Kelly, so seeing her show bombing is probably making him smirk

  15. OTHER RENEE says:

    I wouldn’t watch her or Mart Lauer. He’s a smug jerk. She … nuf said.

  16. Radley says:

    She’s damaged goods outside the Faux news echo chamber. $23mil down the drain.

  17. magnoliarose says:

    She is a bigot and said so many horrible things at Fox that NBC bought into the idea that just because Tangerine 45 won it was some sort of a cultural shift, but they didn’t understand it is in the OPPOSITE direction. No one watches Fox but rightwingers who have no interest in reality, the majority of the country aren’t those people, and some of us refuse to watch her because we remember. Doesn’t anybody learn some life lessons from Game of Thrones? Women are the north. We remember.

  18. Christo says:

    What I never “got” about Megyn Kelly is all the props she got for essentially being the “enemy of my enemy”. For the better part of the previous 8 years, she had been a somewhat clarion voice of guffawed smart-assery at Fox News. Granted, she was somewhat better than the rest at Fox, but…come on…that bar wasn’t too high to clear; that bar is practically on the ground itself. Then along comes Trump to dump on her like he does with almost everyone who crosses him, and everyone gathered around her like someone suffering dimentia or amnesia reaching for the only nice, familiar thing they could grasp from that picture. And, in the fallout from the Roger Ailes debacle, she has been summarily lifted up as some kind of feminist hero. Yeah, she did the right thing after that Gretchen Carlson had kicked the door open. It is awful what happened to both women, but journalism-wise….both are trash and spread misinformation for the better part of the last decade. So, in that vein, kudos to Megyn for helping take down a sexist titan, but you don’t by default get credit for being a credible journalist when your entire track record demonstrates anything but that—-even if the ratings for her Fox News program were lifted by a large aggregate of the ignorant who now have nothing to do with her.

  19. phlyfiremama says:

    Now with the HuffPost revelation that NBC tried to squash the Weinstein story…not looking very good, NBC!

  20. Louise177 says:

    I don’t know why they thought she would be good as a talk show host. She’s not warm. It was also a mistake to break up the Today Show. It would have made more sense to have her on at 10 or in the afternoon.

  21. Penelope says:

    She’s god-awful at everything, including interviewing, projecting warmth, putting guests at ease, and carrying a conversation. Plus she’s smug and unlikeable. She won’t be around for too much longer.

  22. Harryg says:

    I knew it would! Can’t stand her!

  23. Betsy says:

    Epic screen caps of her, Kaiser. Well done.

  24. kimbers says:

    Tam Hall was the only reason I watched the today show.