NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: ‘Today’ show reportedly had to draft Jacob Soboroff as a replacement host for Thursday's episode of the '3rd Hour' segment after a surprising absence of half the anchors.

While the ‘3rd Hour’ segment usually includes Sheinelle Jones, Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer, and Craig Melvin, however, for the October 26 episode, two of the hosts were missing.

This occurred in the wake of a series of on-air stunts by Melvin, which left both fans and co-hosts perplexed.

In an episode earlier this month, Melvin startled his colleagues when he brandished a butcher knife in the office, initially sparking alarm.

He later delighted viewers by sharing an Instagram video in which he demonstrated his cake-cutting prowess, skillfully balancing the cake with one hand while expertly slicing pieces with the knife. This performance created an entertaining and graceful presentation.

Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin miss out on 'Today' episode as Jacob Soboroff takes over

During a recent ‘Today’ episode, the NBC show had to bring in a fan-favorite replacement, Jacob Soboroff, to fill in for Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin, who were reportedly missing from the morning show.

The ‘3rd Hour’ segment was then hosted by Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer, and Soboroff. Roker also dished upon Melvin’s absence saying he is currently “off an assignment.”

The 69-year-old also mentioned Jones’ absence stating she’s just “off”, however, did not say anything about their return to the show.

While Melvin was there to cover his duties on Wednesday, Jones had been away from the NBC show since Tuesday.

Moreover, it is unknown when the missing hosts will return as none of their co-hosts revealed anything.

Craig Melvin beats chicken to take out his aggression

Meanwhile, Craig Melvin’s antics continued on the show before his absence when he aggressively whipped chicken meat using a rolling pin to take out his aggression during a cooking segment.

‘Today’ hosts welcomed restaurant owner Erin French, who shared her two signature dishes with the team.

Melvin was there to help the chef and planned to prepare crispy chicken cutlets and salad from the cookbook, ‘Big Heart, Little Stove.’

While the duo were making the dish, French handed Melvin a rolling pin adding, “If you want to make your own cutlets, you can take out a little aggression if you had a hard work day and just go for it!”

He then started beating the chicken vigorously using the pin with a touch of his sense of humor, “I don't know why I'm making that face, by the way."

With a light-hearted tone, he mentioned that he had given the chicken a bit of a "beating" before regaining his composure and proceeding with the cooking segment.

With a brief moment where he was letting off steam by using the rolling pin a few more times, it appeared that Melvin had a momentary lapse in his cool composure.

However, he and Erin resumed working on the recipe together without further disturbance.