Savannah Guthrie is taking on a second hosting role at NBC.
On Monday, the “Today” show co-anchor announced that she will host a new NBC game show based on Wordle, the viral online game that challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six tries.
Guthrie was joined at the announcement by comedian and “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who will serve as executive producer on the upcoming series. The New York Times, which acquired Wordle in 2022 for a “low-seven figure” deal, will also serve as a production partner.
“We’ve been holding this secret between us for a long time now,” Guthrie said. “And we’re going to make Wordle a game show.”
Development on the game show began 2½ years ago with the Times, Fallon said, adding that the series needed a host who “looks like they play Wordle” and knows how to lead a show — making Guthrie a perfect fit.
Guthrie, who is an avid Wordle player, said the game show will be “super fast-paced and fun” and “a great family game.” She added, “I love a game and a show that you can watch with kids and you feel like they’re learning some things.”
The game show adapts the online game into a competition series, challenging contestants to solve five-letter word puzzles while facing off against some of the game’s most competitive players in teams competing in the Wordle arena for a cash prize. The series is set to release in 2027.
Guthrie paused mid-announcement to thank everyone involved in the series for putting production on hold amid the ongoing search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1.
“We just found out in February that we got picked up and we were supposed to shoot in March. And I just want to say a quick thank you to NBC and to Jimmy and his production company and The New York Times and the studio and Universal because when everything happened with me and my family, they just stopped everything and said, ‘We’ll wait for you,’” Guthrie said.
“Hollywood is a really tough business, and I didn’t expect that, and I just want to say thank you, it means so much to me,” she added.
Fallon responded, “We can’t do it without you.”
Guthrie returned to the “Today” show in early April after a two-month hiatus following her mother’s disappearance.
Guthrie told the Times that Wordle had been a shared connection between her and her mother, and that she showed her mom the game show’s pilot episode in December.
“Everything is strange right now,” Guthrie said. “It’s strange to get up and do the ‘Today’ show every day, and it’s strange to say that I’m going to do a game show when your heart is broken.”
“Nothing about that has changed, and it’s not easy,” she added, “but I’m determined to put one foot in front of the other. And this is a joyous thing.”