NBC

Matt Lauer, formerly the face of NBC, is already a ghost as far as the network's online presence is concerned.

Lauer's been replaced on the "Today" cover photos for the show's social media -- specifically Facebook and Twitter. They used to feature Matt and Savannah Guthrie, but now it's more group shots of all NBC's morning personalities.

Matt is still featured in old "Today" Facebook and Twitter photos and clips -- so, they're not trying to rewrite history. Not yet, anyway.

As we reported ... Lauer was abruptly fired Wednesday after a complaint about inappropriate sexual behavior was filed against him.

Katie Couric straight-up said Matt Lauer pinched her on the ass a lot during their 9-year run on the "Today" show.

Katie appeared on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" back in 2012, and during a segment -- Plead the Fifth -- Andy asked about Matt's most annoying habit.

What's interesting ... Katie's answer came and went ... it was hardly picked up by the media. It's interesting ... NBC said no one has complained until this week, yet their longtime co-anchor talked about ass-pinching in 2012 and NBC apparently didn't bat an eye.

As we reported ... Matt was fired for "inappropriate sexual behavior" in a stunning announcement Wednesday. We're told the investigation has been going on for weeks and the New York Times and other media outlets were working on a story about Lauer.

9:10 AM PT -- According to the accusers attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, he and his client met with NBC's HR and legal teams for several hours Monday night. Wilkenfeld says he believes at this time, NBC acted swiftly and appropriately given the allegations.

5:55 AM PT -- The New York Post is reporting the incident that triggered the firing occurred at the Sochi Winter Olympics, when Lauer allegedly assaulted a female NBC staffer.

5:46 AM PT -- Sources connected to NBC tell TMZ the network has been investigating Lauer for weeks and multiple media outlets -- including The New York Times -- were working a story about the anchor and sexual harassment. As one source put it, "Lack tried to get ahead of the story before it broke."

Matt Lauer is no longer the face of NBC's "Today" -- he's been fired for "inappropriate sexual behavior."

The stunning announcement was made on the air at the top of NBC's "Today" by Savannah Guthrie, who read a memo from NBC News Chairman Andy Lack -- "We received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment."

Savannah was joined by Hoda Kotb ... and both anchors shared their shock, saying they had found out just moments before going on the air. Savannah had a very shaky voice as she said "we are devastated and we are still processing all of this." She also said she was "heartbroken" for the "brave colleague" who made the complaint.

In the memo, Lack added this was the first complaint reported to NBC, but they "were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."

Lauer had been, in many ways, the face of the entire Peacock network for more than 20 years as he anchored "Today" ... which is NBC's biggest moneymaker.

Story developing ...

Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie hugged it out after Wednesday's "Today" show ... clearly still reeling from the news that Matt Lauer was fired.

The 2 anchors were emotional when they announced on their show Lauer had been fired for sexual impropriety.

The staff was clearly shaken by the news, and Hoda comforted a crew member after the program.

Matt was with "Today" for 20 years. The NBC Prez said they made a swift decision after a woman came forward Monday, but we're told the network has been investigating Matt for weeks and wanted to get a jump on several media outlets -- including The New York Times -- which were preparing stories on Matt and sexual misconduct.

Jimmy Fallon won't be hitting the TV airwaves anew this week ... NBC canceled new tapings of "The Tonight Show" following his mother's death.

The network announced Sunday there wouldn't be any new 'Tonight Show' episodes airing this week, and that re-runs would be coming on Monday through Friday instead.

As we reported ... Fallon's mother, Gloria, died Saturday in a NYC hospital with Jimmy and other family by her side. She was reportedly quite ill.

10-year-olds can barely get their hands on a crisp $20 bill, but Mackenzie Hancsicsak, who plays Young Kate on "This Is Us," is already hustling $4k pay raises.

We got ahold of Mackenzie's minors contract for the hit NBC show. It's her first TV role ever and it landed her a $8,210 payday per episode the first season.

Cut to season 2 ... Mackenzie got a huge bump to $12.5k an episode. That's a lot considering her raise for season 3 won't be as much ... it'll only go up about $500 to $13k an episode.

Tomi Lahren subscribes to this theory -- you can take Megyn Kelly out of FOX News but you can't take the conservative out of Megyn ... and that's why she's struggling at NBC.

We got Tomi out in NYC and asked her why she thinks Megyn's morning show is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. For the uninitiated ... Megyn asked a "Will & Grace" fan if he became gay after watching the character Will. Megyn also drew a mean side-eye from Jane Fonda, who totally ignored her question about plastic surgery.

Simply put, Tomi says it ain't easy being conservative.

The writers at "This is Us" must have inside sources -- inside the Kardashian wombs, that is.

If you watched the season 2 premiere Tuesday night (shame on you if you didn't) ... Justin Hartley's character, Kevin, is on the phone with his gf, who can't make it to L.A. to catch a glimpse of the Kardashians.

Kevin put her at ease though ... by reassuring her the K Krew is multiplying at an alarming rate, and they'll be plenty of 'em when she gets to La La Land. Mind you, the episode had to have been shot WAY before TMZ broke news about Kylie and Khloe's pregnancies.

Don Lemon is torn over Megyn Kelly's controversial interview with radio host Alex Jones -- but ultimately seems to think he's not worth the airtime.

We got the CNN anchor at LAX and asked what he thought about the backlash against Megyn for interviewing the Infowars host ... who's theorized the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.

Some parents of victims are blasting Megyn, and lobbying NBC to yank the interview. Don, at first, had Megyn's back ... saying sometimes journalists have to go to "dark places."

On a personal level though ... Don dismisses Jones as a total phony who doesn't deserve a platform.

Megyn Kelly was on the set of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" Thursday ... and it's not hard to connect the dots to figure out what's up.

Megyn's jumped from FNC to NBC, where she'll anchor a Sunday night magazine show premiering in June.

We're guessing she wasn't doing a cameo on 'KUWTK,' so by the powers of deduction it seems she's interviewing the klan for her new show.

If she interviewed Kim about the robbery, Ellen may have stolen her thunder ... Kim talked and cried about it on her talk show this week.

NBC and FOX are going full bore against each other to bring "American Idol" back.

We're told both networks have submitted bids to FremantleMedia -- which owns the show -- and a decision could come as early as this week.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... NBC wants the show in part to resolve a problem with "The Voice." We're told the network doesn't want to oversaturate the market with the show, which airs twice a year. We're also told Adam Levine only wants to do 1 cycle a year.

If NBC gets 'Idol,' it would rotate 'A.I.' with "The Voice" and each would air once a year.

We're also told NBC has Ryan Seacrest as the favored host the second time around, and FOX would also entertain bringing Ryan back.

Our sources say the target date for bringing 'Idol' back is either Summer 2018 or mid-season 2019.

Hollywood is hiring way more Muslim actors than ever before ... and President Trump might very well be the one to thank.

Industry sources tell TMZ there's been a big uptick in the number of roles for Muslim actors this pilot season, and that TV networks are pushing for more Muslim-American story lines in primetime.

For example ... Omar Metwally (CBS), Mouzam Makkar (NBC), Zainab Johnson (ABC), Adeel Akhtar (FOX) and Hasan Minhaj (Netflix) ... are all starring in pilots right now.

Sue Obeidi, the director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Hollywood, says studios and production companies are reaching out to her group to consult on accurate plots.

She adds ... rather than just casting someone who might look Middle Eastern or Arabic, networks are pushing for actual Muslims to play Muslim characters. As opposed to the infamous casting of Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Prince of Persia.'

Sources at one of TV's biggest casting agencies say the demand has been on the rise since Trump announced his presidential bid.

As for why? The timing makes it seem obvious -- Hollywood power players, most of whom are vehemently anti-Trump, are pushing back against what they see as his exclusionary policies.

Tyra Banks will be the new host of "America's Got Talent" ... this after multiple attempts to hire a comedian failed.

Tyra was not on the radar after Nick Cannon quit. The top 3 candidates were Marlon Wayans, Brandon Mychal Smith and Tone Bell. Marlon was asking for more loot than producers would pay, and then Brandon was tapped but we're told some of the honchos just weren't down with it.

Filming was supposed to begin last week, but Mel B had a death in the family ... so it was put on hold, rendering the show hostless.

Howie Mandel posted a video Sunday announcing the news, and Tyra confirmed it as well. She just finished her long-time gig on "America's Next Top Model."

So finally ... someone everyone agreed on. Season 12 is off and running.

Marlon Wayans says NBC's decision to replace Nick Cannon on "America's Got Talent" with another black guy has nothing to do with race, but the question ... is Marlon talking code?

We got the comedian Friday night at Catch, and he tells our camera guy that replacing Nick with someone like Brandon Mychal Smith is strictly a numbers game, and that race isn't even in the equation.

So what did Marlon mean when he says NBC was just looking for someone with "a like smile?"

Brandon Mychal Smith is all but signed to be the next host of "America's Got Talent" ... this after negotiations with Marlon Wayans fell apart over money.

Multiple sources connected with the show tell TMZ, the deal is not done but it will happen soon, possibly in the next day.

We're told Marlon was first choice ... in no small part because he's a major name and has a history with the show as a guest judge. Our sources say reps for both sides went back and forth several days ago but Marlon wanted more than the network was willing to pay.

Brandon -- who's hysterical as a rapper on "You're the Worst" -- will cost way less, but one source said the other advantage is that he will become part of the show in a more seamless way than Marlon, who has an extremely strong brand independent of the show.

One source warns these deals sometimes fall apart at the very end, but it looks like Brandon will get the gig.

Howie Mandel did everything but drop to his knees ... begging Nick Cannon to return as host of "America's Got Talent."

Howie -- 1 of 4 judges on the talent show -- made a passionate plea Sunday at LAX. Howie's pretty damn adamant -- Nick's the heart and soul of the show.