TODAY Show Halloween 2026: Anchors Celebrate NBC's 100th Birthday With Costumes From Johnny Carson to 'Friends'

The TODAY show held its annual Halloween extravaganza a day early, on Friday, Oct. 30, and this year’s theme looked back at a century of its own network. The anchors dressed as characters and stars tied to NBC, which marks its 100th anniversary on Nov. 15.

NBC debuted on Nov. 15, 1926, with a four-hour radio broadcast, according to TODAY. The costume reveal opened with a pre-taped tour of 30 Rockefeller Center led by Savannah Guthrie dressed as an NBC page, NBC Insider reported.

TODAY show Halloween 2026 costumes: the full list

According to TODAY’s recap, the main lineup was:

Jenna Bush Hager’s real cat, Maisie, appeared as “Smelly Cat,” the song Phoebe made famous on “Friends.” Hager and Guthrie performed it together, NBC Insider reported.

Surprise guests and best moments

Several real guests joined in. Jack McBrayer, who played NBC page Kenneth Parcell on “30 Rock,” appeared at the end of Guthrie’s tour, TODAY reported. Martha Stewart showed up as herself next to Melvin’s Snoop Dogg, and later cooked Halloween dishes with the anchors. “Real Snoop would never do that!” Stewart joked when Melvin spilled chocolate on her white tracksuit, according to TODAY.

Sportscaster Mike Tirico introduced Jarrett’s Olympic segment. Simone Biles responded to Jarrett’s look on Instagram with the word “PERFECT,” TODAY reported. Jones danced in a kickline with the real Rockettes, and admitted it was hard. “I stopped ballet in seventh grade,” she told TODAY.com.

Other NBC News staff joined too: Vicky Nguyen dressed as Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, Brian Cheung as George Washington and Chloe Melas as Count Dracula.

Behind the TODAY show costumes

Costume designer Staci Greenbaum told TODAY that some looks were exact copies and others were looser nods. Roker’s Gumby suit was made by the same “SNL” team that built Murphy’s costume for his 2019 return to “Weekend Update,” and Guthrie’s page outfit was a real NBC page uniform.

“SNL” wig designer Jodi Mancuso said Melvin’s Snoop Dogg hair took the most time, according to TODAY. Her team usually needs about 40 hours per wig.

Daly explained his pick to TODAY.com: “She’s a huge breakout star, I’m a music guy and I thought this would be a lot of fun to do.” He told NBC Insider: “Halloween, for the TODAY show, is our prom.”

Is today Halloween?

Not quite. Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31. TODAY airs on weekdays, so the show held its celebration on Friday, Oct. 30.

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