After a long week, Megyn Kelly jokes about 'media response' to her show

Megyn Kelly debuted her new NBC morning show, Megyn Kelly Today, on Monday. On the same day, The Washington Post's television critic likened Kelly to NBC's "Bride of Frankenstein, using parts of Ellen DeGeneres, Kelly Ripa and whatever else it can find." A CNN media reporter, also that day, wondered why NBC decided to hire Kelly to do a morning show in the first place.

Her interview with the cast of the re-booted NBC show Will & Grace was panned by show star Debra Messing on Instagram, who said she regretted the visit, and legendary actress Jane Fonda reacted negatively to an out-of-place question from Kelly about plastic surgery. There was also a production snafu and a curse word from a cameraman.

So, it was a tough week for Kelly in the trade press, and at the end of Friday morning's show, she poked some fun at the tepid media industry response.

"I just want to take a moment to thank all of you so much for watching this week," Kelly told her live studio audience. "It's been very exciting. It has been educational." She then made a joke: "I've just been so delighted at the media response. What? No." She got a laugh from the crowd, and then continued: "But the viewer response has been awesome, and I am so grateful to have all of you giving us a chance."

Hoda Kotb, who co-hosts the 10 a.m. hour of Today, congratulated Kelly on making it through her first week on the air. "I made it!" Kelly exclaimed in response.

Kelly's ratings this week have been "pretty solid," though it's hard to draw long-term conclusions about five days of data.

What's clear from watching Monday's debut, and throughout the week, is that Kelly will be propped up and supported — at least on air — by what Matt Lauer called the Today show "family."

In that vein, 9 a.m. co-host Savannah Guthrie gave Kelly's first week a glowing review in an appearance on Thursday on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

Responding to a viewer question about Kelly's show, Guthrie said, "I think it’s great. I think she’s got the eyes of the world upon her and I think everybody can relate to how nerve-wracking that is. But I think she’s awesome, I think the show looks fantastic. I mean, it looks beautiful. And we’re thrilled to have her. She’s doing a lot — she has a lot of different things she can do and I think she’s awesome.” Cohen then said that Kelly "got a bad rap" for asking Fonda why she isn't "proud to admit" that she's had plastic surgery.

Read more: Megyn Kelly's New Morning Show Starts on an Emotional Note