Natalie Morales makes her debut on The Talk revealing she feels 'safe and secure' with hosting team

Monday marked a new beginning for journalist Natalie Morales, with her first day on CBS’ The Talk after more than a decade on NBC.

The 49-year-old announced earlier this month that she was leaving NBC News after 22 years on the network, where she most recently was the West Coast anchor for Today.

She took to Instagram to share a snap with her co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Jerry O’Connell after her debut episode Monday.

‘So much fun hanging with this wonderful bunch.. so lucky!’ Morales said, while tagging all of her co-hosts and the hashtag #GreatFirstDay.

Morales’ debut started with a humorous sketch, where she was trying to find The Talk Stage and wound up on the sets of CSI, the James Bond film No Time to Die and the hit Netflix show Squid Game, where she was rescued by Gbajabiamila, who said, ‘The exact same thing happened to me on my first day.’

When she took to the stage with her co-hosts for the first time, Kloots asked what it was like to be there with everyone.

‘It’s like [the] first day at school and I’m the new kid at school. And I’m like, “I don’t know who to hang out with,”‘ Morales began.

‘It’s amazing that I’m hanging out with the coolest kids up here. Because, I mean, you have just been amazing from the beginning from day one when this was announced. And I’ve never done this before a studio audience, so this energy is unreal,’ she said.

‘People were asking me like, “How does it feel?” And I’m like, “You know, as long as I have this team, I feel so safe and secure,”‘ she said. 

‘And I know that we’re going to have some disagreements, but we’re going to be respectful always and we’re going to have a seriously good time,’ she added.

The Talk has gone through quite an panel upheaval in recent years, with Amanda Kloots joining last year in Season 11, and Morales, O’Connell and Gbajabiamila coming aboard for the current 12th season, which debuted in September.

Sheryl Underwood is the longest-tenured co-host, having been a regular on the panel since Season 2. 

Morales revealed on October 1 that she was leaving NBC News after 22 years, though she’s expected to remain as a Dateline correspondent throughout the year.

‘It’s an extraordinary opportunity to be joining this team at The Talk. I love the new energy and direction and couldn’t be more excited to join Sheryl, Amanda, Jerry and Akbar,’ Morales said in a statement.

‘I’m looking forward to many good times while talking about the days’ topics, and I can’t wait to get going,’ she concluded.