Al Roker Misses Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade For The First Time In 27 Years, Replaced By Dylan Dreyer

After experiencing a dangerous bouts with blood clots that left him hospitalized and missing from The Today Show for most of the month of November, Al Roker will not be appearing at today’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, currently airing on NBC and livestreaming on Peacock.

After an opening number featuring the camera-thirsty Lea Michele, star of Broadway’s controversial Funny Girl revival, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie confirmed the news that Al Roker’s fans had been dreading.

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“For the past 27 parades,” Hoda began, “we would turn to Al Roker, who is our Today Show colleague, and our best pal. But, as a lot of you have heard, Al is recovering – and he’s recovering very well — from a recent medical issue. We just want to say we love you, Al. Wonder if you’re watching? But, we wish you a full recovery.”

Then Savannah Guthrie curtly added, “We love you, Al. We’ll see you next year,” before tossing to Dylan Dreyer, an NBC News meteorologist.

Following an unusually extended absence from The Today Show this month, the host revealed earlier this week that he was hospitalized with a blood clot in his leg which “sent some clots” to his lungs. Roker broke his silence on the health scare with an Instagram post where he wrote, “After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon.”