Wordle to become prime-time TV show, with Savannah Guthrie as host
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The game show will be hosted by Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie (left). The New York Times will serve as a production partner alongside Jimmy Fallon (right).
PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
Michael M. Grynbaum
NEW YORK – NBC is betting that a mobile app word game could become a broadcast hit.
The American network said on May 11 that it planned to produce a game show based on Wordle, the puzzle game published by The New York Times that challenges players to deduce a five-letter word in six guesses or fewer.
The series, hosted by Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, is set to begin airing in NBC prime time in 2027. The Times will serve as a production partner, alongside Jimmy Fallon, the host of The Tonight Show.
The Wordle show is the first instance of the Times associating itself with a prime-time entertainment programme on a major broadcaster. The company previously collaborated with cable and streaming channels on documentary series based on its journalism, as well as adaptations of long-running features like Modern Love (2019 to 2021).
That the Times is co-producing a half-hour variety show where contestants compete for a cash prize reflects in part the company’s diversification in recent years. Its Games app, which includes the Crossword, Spelling Bee and Wordle, is among its most popular products.
The TV series will be filmed in Manchester, England, and is expected to replicate the Wordle typeface and colour scheme. Representatives for the Times and NBC declined to say how much the network would pay the Times.
Wordle, which the Times acquired in 2022 for a low seven-figure sum, has made cameos on the small screen before. A 2024 episode of American comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000 to 2024) explored the practice of spoiling Wordle answers out of spite. (“I’m a Wordle wizard,” late comedian Richard Lewis bragged to fellow comedian Larry David.)
Guthrie, 54, said in an interview that she was an avid fan of the game who shared her scores with friends on multiple group texts. One, called Wordle Nerdle, includes her Today co-host Carson Daly and his wife.
Filming of Wordle was delayed after the disappearance in February of Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who remains missing. Savannah Guthrie took an extended leave from Today before returning to the programme in April.
Guthrie said in the interview that Wordle had been a point of connection between her and her mother. In December 2025, she showed her the game show’s pilot.
“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.” NYTIMES
