Since The Voice premiered in 2011, many coaches have come and gone from the Big Red Chairs, but there’s only been one host. Carson Daly will lead the 30th season of NBC’s singing competition when it premieres on the 2026 TV schedule this fall, and according to rumors, it may be his last. Supposed insiders are suggesting that Daly will leave his long-time position ahead of Season 31, and there are reasons both why I could believe this and why I don’t.
The rumor suggesting Carson Daly is leaving The Voice comes from The Sun, where a source alleged that Daly's commitments to The Today Show and wanting to be spend more time with his family necessitated the move. According to the source:
Carson Daly is out. He’s not hosting Season 31. He wasn’t able to make the upcoming season’s schedule work with his Today Show schedule. So his Today workload mixed with not wanting to be away from family this next year made him say ‘no’ to hosting 31. He remains an executive producer on it and the door is open if he wants to return for Season 32.
No official word has come from Carson Daly or The Voice, so for now these are simply unverified rumors. While I’m definitely taking this report with a grain of salt, I also see how it could be true. Let me explain:
Why I Believe It: Carson Daly Has Spoken About Wanting To ‘Cut Back’ On Work
Carson Daly stays busy with his commitments to NBC, both on The Voice and as one of the co-hosts of TODAY. It’s been quite a year on the set of the morning show, with the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother and the intruder who reportedly confronted Craig Melvin. So it’s probably not at the front of anyone’s mind that a couple of years ago when Hoda Kotb announced her retirement, Daly said this:
I cannot wait to get off television! ... I am looking to cut back. I lost my dad when I was five, so my time with my kids is the most precious.
At the time it sounded like he might be thinking of leaving The Today Show, but if he’s giving up one job or the other, The Voice might make more sense. Carson Daly and his family live in New York, where the morning news program is filmed, while The Voice films in Los Angeles.
The timing also seems to make sense in terms of his family. Carson Daly’s son Jackson is 17 and entering his senior year of high school, and the longtime host said he’s soaking in every “micro-minute” of their time together. That’s not to mention Carson’s wife Siri and their three younger daughters — Etta, 13, London, 11, and Goldie, 6.
Why I Don’t Believe It: The Rumor Doesn’t Align With The Voice’s Filming Schedule
There is a really strong argument to be made for why this rumor could be true, but I’m caught up on the part about Carson Daly allegedly leaving after The Voice Season 30 .
For the past few years, The Voice has filmed two seasons simultaneously. We know the initial rounds of the upcoming season have been filmed, thanks to the buzz about new coaches Queen Latifah and Riley Green, and according to fans on Reddit citing 1iota (the site that provides tickets for The Voice’s studio audience), Season 31 also began filming in late June.
If The Sun’s sources are correct, why would Carson Daly choose to film Season 30 but not 31, since they’re in production at the same time? It would also mean that a replacement for Daly has already been made, and not only that, but the new host would have already filmed episodes in front of an audience. That would be a pretty risky move for NBC to pull before even announcing their host of 15 years was leaving.
Something feels a bit off here, regardless of what Carson Daly has said about wanting to spend more time with his family. We’ll have to wait to see if the longtime host himself addresses the rumors or if NBC makes an announcement. Either way, catch Daly when he returns for The Voice Season 30 at 8 p.m. ET Monday, September 21, on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
