Al Roker left the Today show earlier than expected on Monday, Sept. 28. The longtime NBC weatherman later explained why he had to step away. His reason had nothing to do with his weather duties. Roker shared the answer himself from outside a courthouse.
Al Roker reveals jury duty forced him to leave Today early as Dylan Dreyer took over
Roker delivered the weather several times before he left the live broadcast. Savannah Guthrie then told viewers, “We have Dylan taking over for Al, who had to leave a little bit early.” Dylan Dreyer replied, “Yeah, a little switcheroo again this morning.” Craig Melvin also addressed Roker’s absence during the 3rd Hour of Today.
Melvin said, “Al had to step out for just a little bit. He’ll be back tomorrow.” Dreyer filled in for Roker during the broadcast, while sports reporter Kaylee Hartung also stepped in. Roker later explained the reason for his sudden departure in an Instagram video. He stood outside a courthouse when he shared the news.
“Well, got out of the Today show early because I’ve got jury duty,” Roker said in the clip. He then added, “It’s everybody’s civic duty to do the duty.” Roker kept the joke going by saying, “I said duty twice!” He captioned the video, “Hey now!!! All rise!! Time for juryduty.”
Roker also started his Monday with an early workout before Today began at 7 a.m. He posted a video of himself walking on a treadmill, lifting weights and working on his balance. In the post, he wrote, “Good morning, @starttoday_ family. Let’s get the week started off right.” Roker added that @rjose07 put him through his paces as he prepared for another busy weather week.
Roker finished his workout post with a reminder for his followers. “Remember, #somethingisbetterthannothing Let’s #checkthebox,” he wrote. He also used the theme song from The A-Team for the video. Roker is set to return to Today on Tuesday, according to Melvin’s on-air update.
