Jenna Bush Hager is embarking on a fresh start for the new year, not only with a new co-star but also with a new role. The cohost of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle" revealed that she is producing her first TV show for NBC—a drama titled "Protection," alongside "Quantico" creator and showrunner Josh Safran and "Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico" executive producer Ben Spector.
When asked about the show's plot, Jenna, whose parents are former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, explained that it hits close to home. "It's about different levels of law enforcement, some based on the Secret Service," she told her new co-host Sheinelle Jones during the Jan. 14 episode of the morning show. "So, you know I know about that."
The 44-year-old added, "We're hopefully going to start shooting this spring, so cross your fingers for us. I'm so excited." Jenna, a Daytime Emmy winner and mother to Mila, 12, Poppy, 10, and Hal, 6, with husband Henry Hager, also explained that she was heavily involved during the pitch process because she's so thrilled by the pilot episode's storyline.
"I joined all the pitches because every time, to watch these sometimes jaded executives'—not all of you, not all of you—faces drop with the twist," she continued. "The twist is so good."
After working as a public school teacher for four years in Washington, D.C., Jenna joined the "Today" show family in 2009 as a correspondent. She later took over the morning show's fourth-hour co-hosting duties alongside Hoda Kotb after Kathie Lee Gifford left the show in 2019. Since then, Jenna has launched the "Today" show's book club Read With Jenna and inked a first-look deal with NBC-owned Universal Studio Group, with "Protection" marking the first production from her company.
Expressing her disbelief at producing a scripted TV show, Jenna said during the Jan. 14 "Today" episode, "Who knew I would ever do something like this, ladies and gentlemen?"
