NEW YORK – Taylor Swift apparently "binges" their episodes. Kelly Clarkson dubbed them "the Rolling Stones of true crime." And at least one of the correspondents counts both Kaley Cuoco and Amanda Seyfried as friends, thanks to the show.
To borrow a few catchphrases from one correspondent, there's no "lying like a sidewalk" in this story and certainly nothing "hinky" about this piece either. But in a rare moment, four of the correspondents of "Dateline NBC" (Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT) are in the USA TODAY studio in New York City together, promoting the 35th season of the primetime newsmagazine show: Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison, Blayne Alexander and Andrea Canning. Dennis Murphy, the longest tenured correspondent, and anchor Lester Holt also return
for Season 35.
The series' popularity has spawned top-rated podcasts and a live "Dateline" event in Nashville last year. All four correspondents note that they're all "almost always" working on something "Dateline"-related.
"We just follow the bouncing ball," Morrison, 79, says.
Morrison, perhaps the most known (and often-imitated, including earlier in this story) correspondent, has been with the show since 1995. Regarding the true crime genre, he opines, "I mean, it's not going anywhere."
And that's a good thing for fans, who watched more minutes of "Dateline" than any other newsmagazine show or true crime show last TV season. Those fans also pushed the "Dateline" podcast into the top 20 list of Spotify's all-time most-streamed chart. The showcast (a TV show in podcast form) just hit 2 billion downloads.
It's also a positive thing for Morrison, who teases that this season he'll air a story 14 years in the making. "Some cases, some stories, don't get resolved," Morrison explains. "The concern lasts, the puzzle lasts."
"We're at the mercy of the criminal justice system and trial schedules," Mankiewicz, 71, adds.
Like Morrison, he's also been with "Dateline" since 1995. Mankiewicz says that the team sometimes begins work on stories, specifically criminal cases, before any charges are filed. After a suspect is named, the work continues until the conclusion of the trial.
"Generally we're going to wait until the end because police and prosecutors usually won't talk to you until there's been a verdict," he says. "And also the audience wants to know what happened."
Lester Holt continues to 'stretch his wings' with 'Dateline,' podcasts
When Holt hears about the story that Morrison has been working on since 2012, he laughs and says he hopes to finish his stories for the show little quicker. Holt, chatting over the phone, teases that he'll be filming a story for Season 35 of the show soon that should take "a few weeks" to complete. But he acknowledges that sometimes the reporting can last months, which he believes is a testament to the team's commitment to storytelling.
Holt has anchored "Dateline" since 2011 and notes that he finds himself out in the field more since stepping away from the "NBC Nightly News" desk in May 2025. He jokes that a "nightly" show has its restraints but now there's "no excuses" for staying home. Holt is also enjoying the added responsibilities of podcasting, including his show "Before & After with Lester Holt." The veteran journalist, who spent much of his early career in radio, thinks its "fun" that "Dateline" and other outlets are returning to audio-centric content.
"Sometimes our lifestyles are such that we want to listen, that we don't necessarily have the focus to sit down and watch a traditional program," Holt, 67, says. "That's what I love about podcasting, is we can kind of stretch our wings in different directions."
In addition to the "showcast," there are a handful of "Dateline" podcasts: Holt, Morrison, Canning and Mankiewicz each host multiple shows. Holt reveals that when the entire team is together in the same room, usually an annual occurrence, one of the topics is often what each person is working on.
"We're all kind of part of a mutual fan club," he continues. "We had some fun conversations this past week with the team around. And we talk a lot about the about the fan reaction."
How do 'Dateline' correspondents unwind after stressful stories?
The "Dateline" team is well-aware of the show's place in the pop culture lexicon, in part because it's almost inescapable.
"My wife and I will be sitting there watching something and suddenly I'll hear a 'Dateline' reference and I kind of look over to her,'" Holt says. "And there it is again, people who will make comparisons and use us as a point of reference."
The show has spurred plenty of references and inspired parodies. It is also partly the subject of a new film: "Primetime," which stars Robert Pattinson as a fictionalized version of former "Dateline" correspondent Chris Hansen, who gained notoriety for his "To Catch a Predator" segments. Holt, who only worked with Hansen a few years, says he may try and see it at some point in theaters.
But this is true crime that the journalists are covering, from fraud to kidnappings to murder. Canning, who has been with the show since 2012, recalls one story that gave her nightmares.
"It was a conman who had faked his own death and gone to Scotland from America," the correspondent, 53, recalls. The person was Nicholas Rossi, who prior to his death in June would email Canning. "He was accused of raping women and all kinds of fraud and horrible things. He would reach out to me out of the blue, even when he was extradited back to America."
For Alexander, who joined the show in 2023, it isn't one particular story that stays with her but rather the "raw emotion" that she encounters when interviewing families who have been affected by the crimes at hand.
"Understanding that people are being vulnerable with us, that they're opening up to us, they're trusting us with this very important part of their life," Alexander, 40, says. "It's really humbling in a way."
"Dateline" certainly has an audience who enjoys escaping their daily lives and entering the worlds in which the correspondents report on. But how do the correspondents themselves unwind?
"'Real Housewives' for us, right?" Canning jokes as she turns to Alexander. "We spent a lot of time talking about 'Atlanta.'"
As the two correspondents converse about which cities they watch, don't watch or are contemplating watching, Morrison and Mankiewicz look off as if their colleagues are speaking a foreign language. Apparently there's also a "Dateline" group chat for the franchise, which Alexander invites Morrison to join.
"I'd have to watch one of them first," he replies.
Then Mankiewicz joins the conversation. "'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' had an episode called 'Hold on to Your Weave,'" he says. "I saw it at the gym!"
And would you look at that! Like a thief in the night, even when they're not on the show, the "Dateline" correspondents have the capacity for keeping us on our toes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Dateline NBC' turns 35. Its journalists have more surprises up their sleeves | Exclusive
