Willie Geist may have hosted Sunday Today since 2016, but a first for the show has him feeling “shocked” and “overwhelmed.”
He often fills in on Today when one of the show’s big names, like Craig Melvin or Dylan Dreyer, is out.
Willie is also a regular commentator on the MSNBC show Morning Joe and often shows up on Saturday Today next to Laura Jarrett.
But he seems most at home on the Sunday Today set, where he interviewed everyone from Hillary Clinton to Chip and Joanna Gaines.
It is at Sunday Today that, in a first for the veteran interviewer, he commented on the speed at which tickets for a Live show sold out.
Willie has hosted Sunday Today for years but has never performed in front of a live audience until now. It is astounding to learn how many people love him and the show.
Willie is ‘overwhelmed’ at the outpouring of love
Willie spoke to PEOPLE about the new live show and admitted he was “shocked” at how quickly the tickets to the show sold out online.
He shared his feelings about the response he received from the public who loves him, saying, “I still am a little bit overwhelmed by that. You do a show, and you know how many people watch, and that’s a lot of people, but you don’t see them, really. You interact with them on social media, and then when they’re in the room? I was so touched by that. It was really beautiful.”
The first-ever Sunday sit-down live was filmed on January 22, 2025, and will air on Sunday, February 2, 2025.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Willie invited a comedian from Nashville, Tennesse, Nate Bargatze, to sit down with him for the first show in front of a live audience.
Nate tours America and is generally known as a family-friendly comedian. He shared a photo from the taping on his Instagram.
Willie sat down with Nate ahead of the show’s taping
Willie asked Nate how his wife and daughter reacted to including them in his act.
Nate shared that the secret to keeping everyone happy is to include himself in the joke rather than focus on his family. That way, “I’ll make fun of me. You can laugh with me.”
The first Sunday Today shot in front of a live audience will be a great watch, and maybe we can all laugh at it.
Sunday Today airs on NBC on Sundays each week.