Lester Holt will wrap a piece of TV history Friday — the first Black solo anchor of one of the three major evening news broadcasts, and Brian Williams' replacement at "NBC Nightly News" nearly 10 years ago (June 18, 2015) after his predecessor was forced off the broadcast for exaggerating stories about covering the war in Iraq.

While a historic and dramatic launch, the actual decade-long run was neither for the most part, but steady and reliable, much like Holt himself. During a farewell tribute on Friday's "Today" show," co-host Craig Melvin observed what many colleagues have long said about Holt — "what you see is what you get," Melvin said.

"I tell my staff this is not rocket science," Holt characteristically replied. "Just tell important stories and be kind to each other."

Not rocket science certainly, but a challenging and complex job nonetheless. Unlike Williams, who embraced the celebrity and spotlight that came with the role, Holt avoided both. He also eschewed the familiar trappings — no anchor desk, for example — and well-established stylistic touches, such as the "voice of God" on-air authority, or the sense that news wasn't news until it had been proclaimed news by the anchor.

The closest he got to an opinion was at the end of every broadcast, when he closed with "Take care of yourselves and take care of each other." (He joked during his "Today" tribute that the phrase, which he adopted during the pandemic, was actually first used by Jerry Springer.)

As managing editor, Holt's style and interests were aligned with the broadcast — a serious news-of-the-day lead, often from Washington, with a mix of international news and investigations. The Holt-anchored broadcast was traditional, and other than the anchor, almost indistinguishable the "Nightlys" of years past. By contrast, rival David Muir's "World News Tonight" has tended to be more conversational and at times sensational. 

Nevertheless, the Muir style has proved more popular. When Williams was suspended by NBC News on Feb. 10, 2015, "Nightly" was comfortably TV's top-rated news broadcast, averaging around 9 million viewers to ABC's 8 million. Holt held on to that lead for the first couple of years of his tenure, but a momentum shift had begun, and by 2017 both programs were tied. Not long after, "WNT" moved to the top where it has remained ever since. ("WNT" now averages around 8 million viewers, and "Nightly" often under 6 million.)

Neither Holt, 66, nor NBC News have indicated this transition has anything to do with ratings. During the "Today" tribute, Holt said he's leaving for an "opportunity to take on a bigger role at 'Dateline' [which he currently anchors.]. Longform is something I want to get my teeth into [and] the time seems right. You hit a certain age [thinking] what's the back part of my career going to look like? The timing seemed right [and] I never wanted to be associated with just one thing."

Starting Monday, the new anchor is a familiar face too — Tom Llamas, 45, "World News Tonight" weekend anchor from 2014 to 2021, when he joined NBC as senior national correspondent, anchor of "NBC News Now," and frequent stand-in for Holt on "Nightly."

At ABC, Llamas was considered heir apparent to Muir, except Muir wasn't going anywhere, so when he joined NBC four years ago, that speculation instantly fell on Holt and his future at the broadcast.

Miami native Llamas — the first Latino anchor of one of the three evening news broadcasts — becomes the eighth anchor of "Nightly" since its launch in 1970, when it replaced "The Huntley-Brinkley Report," and only the fourth since Tom Brokaw stepped down in 2004. Making the rounds of NBC affiliate news broadcasts this past week, Llamas was asked by the anchor of one of those stations what changes he has in mind.

"I'll be involved in every aspect of the broadcast, and like to say involved in every second — the way we give the order of the stories," Llamas said. "And I want to launch a new investigative series looking at the insurance industry."

Otherwise, "I believe in evolution, not revolution, maybe small changes here and there but not major changes. It's a great broadcast."