With Katie Couric (unofficially!) out at CBS News the hot new parlor game amongst the media set is "where will she land?" And by far the most interesting rumor to that end has Couric hosting a new daytime talk show with her old co-host Matt Lauer.
Since Couric's contract isn't up till June 4 (and Lauer's isn't up till next year) such a beast could take some time to organize, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility. And it gets better:
The linchpin in any new show pairing Ms. Couric and Mr. Lauer is Jeff Zucker, who before he was NBC’s chief executive put the two hosts together as executive producer of “Today.” Mr. Zucker had already been expected to be the main creative force behind a talk show with Ms. Couric.
“I think the three of them think it would be awesome to get together again,” one person close to the negotiations said. “It still seems more likely NBC will keep Matt. But it’s not out of the question.”
Considering how much Zucker bungled his time atop NBC we aren't surprised he'd be interested in going back to where his meteoric climb began. To do so with his original stars, Couric and Lauer, would just be the icing on the cake.
Another possibility that Page Six is floating is that if when Couric ends her time at CBS she were to sign onto a syndicated show with NBC the brass there might include a clause that would make her appear regularly back on Today. But with Meredith Viera rumored to be getting ready to leave the morning newscast, we have to wonder if somebody at NBC is trying to persuade Couric to just come back to the show altogether (though without a whole lotta of money we doubt she'd want to).
Can't wait until some mythical future for a Katie/Matt morning reunion? You don't have to. To promote her new book The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, Couric will be stopping by Rock Center on Wednesday morning.
