Entertainment TV The 'Today' Show Crew's Greatest Halloween Costumes From the best of the '90s to a royal wedding almost as good as Will and Kate's, look back at the cast's over-the-top outfits By Jocelyn Vena, Kate Hogan, Kate Hogan Kate Hogan is Director of Digital Specials and Features at PEOPLE, as well as the editor of Stories to Make You Smile. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2008. People Editorial Guidelines and Stephanie Sengwe Updated on October 31, 2023 10:33AM EDT Close Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb. Photo: John Nacion/Getty Images When it comes to Halloween costumes, the Today show cast never disappoints. For decades, anchors on the NBC morning show have gone all out with thematic group costumes, dating back to the 1990s when Katie Couric, Al Roker, Ann Curry and Matt Lauer first started going with pop culture references — hair, makeup and all. In the years since, the crew — now led by Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie — picks topical moments, whether it's the British royal family or what happens in Vegas. As the Today crew churns out yet another great group costume in 2023, take a look back on some of the best. 01 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 1997 Dave Allocca/Time Life Pictures/Getty In the early days of Today's Halloween celebrations, the staff's costumes were a bit more 'eh' than 'awesome.' For Halloween 1997, the gang went DIY: Katie Couric got all dolled up as screen legend Mae West, Al Roker and Matt Lauer went as Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble and Ann Curry channeled her inner Cleopatra. 02 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2000 NBC Three years later, the hosts really upped the ante with their pop-culture-inspired costumes. Roker dressed as Diddy and Lauer as Jennifer Lopez in the infamous Versace dress she wore to the 2000 Grammy Awards. 03 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2005 Albert Ferreira/Reuters/Corbis Marilyn Monroe – er, Couric – posed between Batman (Lauer) and Robin (Roker) the year Batman Begins hit theaters. 04 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2006 Sara Jaye Weiss/INF It was girls vs. guys in 2006 as the divas — Cher (Curry), Bette Midler (Meredith Vieira) and Madonna (Natalie Morales) — faced off against Lauer's Captain Jack Sparrow and Roker's Davy Jones of Pirates of the Caribbean. 05 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2007 Jamie McCarthy/WireImage The cast paid homage to TV's most spooktacular family, The Munsters, in 2007: Lauer and Vieira were Herman and Lily Munster, Roker was Grandpa, Morales was son Eddie and Hoda Kotb was their "normal" niece, Marilyn. Contributor Tiki Barber went wild as the fictional family's pet, Spot. 06 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2008 Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic "Fairytales" was the theme in 2007. Vieira, Lauer, Curry and Roker dressed up as Pinocchio, Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella and the Gingerbread Man, respectively. Kathie Lee Gifford, Kotb and Amy Robach also got in on the fun, donning the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel costumes. We just hope everyone had a happily ever after! 07 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2009 Janet Mayer/Splash News Online The Force was with the Today show cast and their costume department in 2009 when Lauer dressed as Luke Skywalker, Roker as Han Solo, Vieira as Princess Leia, Curry as Darth Vader, Kotb as Yoda, Gifford as C-3PO and Morales as Queen Padmé Amidala. 08 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2010 Richard Drew/AP Close pals Gifford and Kotb paid homage to TV's original best friends —Lucy and Ethel — and I Love Lucy's memorable grape-stomping scene. 09 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2011 Peter Kramer/NBC; Erik Pendzich / Rex The Today hosts were pretty spot-on when they recreated the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, with Lauer and Curry dressed as the current Prince and Princess of Wales (known then as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge). Savannah Guthrie went as Prince Charles (now King Charles III), Roker as Prince Harry and Vieira as Queen Elizabeth. Meanwhile, BFFs Gifford and Kotb took on the roles of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. 10 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2013 Dennis Van Tine/Abaca USA Playing legendary TV stars paid off for the Today crew when Carson Daly imitated CHiPs cop Erik Estrada and Lauer dressed as Baywatch's Carmen Electra on the morning show. Rounding out the cast of small-screen favorites: Roker as Mr. T, Gifford and Kotb as Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble, Morales and Guthrie as Laverne and Shirley and Willie Geist as Baywatch's Mitch Buchannon (a.k.a. The Hoff). 11 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2014 Erik Pendzich/REX USA The gang didn't have to go far to find their costumes in 2014 — just over to the wardrobe department of Saturday Night Live, where they pulled looks from the show's iconic sketches. Geist and Tamron Hall brought cheer as the Spartan cheerleaders; Morales did saucy schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher (with Peter Alexander as a forlorn priest); Lauer was the androgynous star of "It's Pat!"; Gifford and Kotb were Wayne and Garth (excellent!); Roker and Lester Holt donned Blues Brothers' garb; and Guthrie, Vieira and Jenna Bush Hager recreated the not-so-stylish "Mom Jeans" digital short. 12 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2015 Today Show Good grief! In honor of The Peanuts Movie's release, the team dressed up as all the fan favorites, with Lauer as Lucy and Roker as Charlie Brown. Once again, Vieira made a surprise return (as Pig-Pen!), and the gang did a cute dance to the hummable theme, "Linus and Lucy." 13 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2016 Today Show/Instagram Nostalgia was alive and well for the cast, who dressed as '90s icons including (from left) Demi Moore, Pulp Fiction's Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega, Steve Urkel, Regis and Kathie Lee (with a surprise Regis Philbin appearance!), Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Seinfeld. (A bonus: Charlie the puppy went as a Beanie Baby.) 14 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2017 Country stars joined the Today cast dressed as, well, country's finest for a mega-concert on the show's Rockefeller Center stage. Reba McEntire introduced "legend's night," which included Daly as mullet-wearing Billy Ray Cyrus, Gifford as Miley Cyrus, Roker as Willie Nelson and Megyn Kelly as Shania Twain (in a corset!). Kotb even rocked a better Blake Shelton than Blake Shelton himself — who showed up for a surprise performance. "Every shred of my dignity is gone," quipped Kelly before being surprised by the real Twain on stage. But perhaps the cream of the crop was Guthrie as Kenny Rogers and Lauer as Dolly Parton performing the country legends' 1983 duet "Islands in the Stream." 15 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2018 Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock Today went totally '80s for Halloween 2018, with the entire crew dressing up as movie characters like Doc (Roker) and Marty McFly (Dylan Dreyer) from Back to the Future as well as Ferris Bueller (Geist), plus music stars like Cyndi Lauper (Guthrie) and Madonna (Gifford). Coincidentally, Good Morning America had the same idea, with the staff of both morning shows dressing up as beloved TV characters. 16 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2019 NBC News’ TODAY The anchors pulled out all the stops to celebrate the spooky holiday with their epic dance-themed costumes. Roker and Craig Melvin went as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's Carlton and Will, respectively. Kotb dressed up as Tony from Saturday Night Fever, Dreyer as Seinfeld's Elaine, Guthrie and Daly as Sandy and Danny from Grease, Sheinelle Jones as Janet Jackson and Alexander as Kevin Bacon's character in Footloose. Hager, who was on maternity leave, even stopped by, dressed as Baby from the beloved romantic comedy Dirty Dancing — with help from Geist as Patrick Swayze's character Johnny. 17 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2020 Tyler Essary/NBC via Getty With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping theaters closed, the Today cast brought Broadway to viewers with their epic stage costumes. Dreyer and Jones dressed as Chicago's Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, Melvin and Roker were Hamilton's Alexander Hamilton and King George and Hager portrayed Grizabella from Cats. Kotb and Guthrie also united as beloved characters Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked. 18 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2021 John Lamparski/Getty Images Ahead of Halloween 2021, the Today show hosts embraced the holiday spirit with a group costume inspired by NFL players and Super Bowl performers. Kotb stepped out as Carrie Underwood, lip-syncing the lyrics of the Sunday Night Football theme song. Geist and Daly dressed up as Tampa Bay Buccaneers duo Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, wearing a handful of real Super Bowl rings. Melvin appeared as Patrick Mahomes, with a video included of a young fan cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. The NFL theme continued with Roker dressed as The Weeknd. The weatherman mimicked the singer's halftime show performance from Super Bowl LV. Jones went a similar route with her Bruno Mars' inspired costume as she emulated his Super Bowl XLVIII headlining act. Guthrie and Hager wrapped up the segment as Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and performed a brief routine alongside members of the famed dance crew. 19 of 20 Today Show Halloween Costumes in 2022 Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images What happens in Vegas ... comes to Rockefeller Plaza! In 2022, the Today crew paid homage to the other city that never sleeps and all of its entertainment options. Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb flew high as Cirque du Soleil performers, Craig Melvin stepped into the ring as Muhammad Ali, Sheinelle Jones led a troupe of showgirls, Al Roker hit the high notes as Sammy Davis Jr., Carson Daly and Dylan Dreyer were David Copperfield and his magical assistant, Jenna Bush Hager transformed into concert mainstay Céline Dion, Willie Geist was all shook up as Elvis Presley and Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker went as Vegas newlyweds Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. 20 of 20 Todays Show Halloween Costumes in 2023 'Today' Hosts Halloween Show. NBC The Today show gang hit all the high notes with their 2023 costumes. The NBC morning show hosts kept their tradition and dressed in a group costume for the holiday this year, transforming into some of the most iconic music artists in history. Kelly Clarkson — who now tapes her show next door to Today at 30 Rockefeller Center — had the honor of introducing each superstar. Carson Daly was first, paying homage to the music legend that is Neil Diamond with a performance of his hit "Sweet Caroline." Craig Melvin came next, dancing in parachute pants as MC Hammer to the rapper's 1990 hit "U Can’t Touch This." Next up was Dylan Dreyer who looked unrecognizable as Pink, dancing to the Grammy winner's hit, "Raise Your Glass." And in what might be the most meta costume of all, Willie Geist dressed up as Harry Styles in the exact ensemble the "As It Was" singer wore when he performed on the Today Plaza in the summer. Weekend Today anchors Laura Jarrett and Peter Alexander also joined in on the fun as they dressed as lovebirds Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. They tied the entire charade with a performance of Stefani and Shelton's "Happy Anywhere." Today with Hoda and Jenna pair Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb also didn't disappoint. The ladies dressed up as '70s icons Sonny and Cher right before viewers' eyes. The two embraced and made goofy faces while performing Sonny and Cher's classic hit, "I Got You, Babe." Weatherman Al Roker danced on the ceiling as Lionel Richie next, before his Today 3rd Hour co-host Sheinelle Jones showed up as Diana Ross for a take of "I'm Coming Out." The festive segment wrapped with Savannah Guthrie impersonating Taylor Swift for a performance of "Cruel Summer." The co-anchor even pulled a "fan" out from the audience which turned out to be none other than her 9-year-old daughter, Vale.