Wordle Game Show in the Works at NBC, Savannah Guthrie Set to Host
by Rick Porter
October 7, 2025


A game show based on the popular New York Times puzzle Wordle is in development at NBC, with "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie set to host.

The project comes from Universal Television Alternative Studio and Jimmy Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog company. The Times is also a production partner. Fallon, who has talked about his love of Wordle a number of times on "The Tonight Show", will be an executive producer.

(Guthrie has also talked about her obsessive love for the game.)




Wordle, which the Times acquired in 2022 and logs billions of plays from the paper’s games site annually, gives players six tries to guess a five-letter word, revealing only if letters are in the right place (via a green background) or part of the word but in the wrong place (with a gold background).

Should it go forward, the Wordle show would join another Fallon-produced game show, "Password", on NBC’s unscripted roster. Fallon also executive produces and hosts the network’s "On Brand", a competition series that revolves around advertising and marketing.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/wordle-game-show-savannah-guthrie-nbc-1236394893/

I'm surprised Wordle hasn't been sued by whoever owns the rights to the Lingo game show. Wordle is the exact same concept as Lingo, and Lingo came first.

I'm surprised Wordle hasn't been sued by whoever owns the rights to the Lingo game show. Wordle is the exact same concept as Lingo, and Lingo came first.The difference with Lingo: it didn't start out as a popular app with thousands of players. I like Lingo, but those without Game Show Network would not have seen it.

Correct me if I wrong here but didn't the CBS version with RuPaul nixed the bingo element?

The difference with Lingo: it didn't start out as a popular app with thousands of players. I like Lingo, but those without Game Show Network would not have seen it.

Au contraire.

Lingo in its original form as a TV game show began in 1987, a Ralph Andrews Production, taped in Vancouver, Canada, with Michael Reagan (yup, Ronald’s son) hosting. It was shown in Miami on WSVN along with a handful of other stations.

Andrews himself took the helm afterward.

Both are on YouTube.

IMO…the original wasn’t bad…but one tires of five-letter words after a while.

cd

but one tires of five-letter words after a while.

cd

That’s part of why Wordle is successful. There’s only one puzzle available per day, which helps alleviate burnout.

The problem with RuPaul's Lingo is that watching people guess words for 30 minutes with nothing to break up the repetition got very boring very quickly. I mean, six guesses as oppose to five and no starting letter, I'm not sure if that is enough.

Oh and in regards to Jimmy Fallon's "body of work" (or lack their of) I'm surprised that The Hollywood Reporter never mention Clash of the Cover Bands. But I'm assuming nobody has watch it, let alone have any interest at all to watch it.

Savannah Guthrie Announces New Hosting Gig from Jimmy Fallon and NBC
by Mekishana Pierre
May 11, 2026


"Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie is celebrating some good news amid the ongoing search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.

On Monday, the morning show anchor announced that she will be adding a new hosting gig to her resume during an appearance by Jimmy Fallon, an executive producer on the upcoming show.

"This is very exciting, I have a big announcement to make," Jimmy Fallon excitedly shared. "We've been developing Wordle as a game show for the past two-and-a-half years with The New York Times, and it's official — we are making Wordle Game Show with our host, Savannah Guthrie!"




Guthrie will oversee the Wordle arena as host of the game show, which will see contestants compete for money. The online game, which first launched in 2021 before it was acquired by The New York Times a year later, has become an undeniable global phenomenon with players trying to solve a new puzzle daily.

"We've been holding this secret between us for a long time now," Guthrie told Monday's audience. "And we're going to make Wordle a game show."



Fallon shared insight on the decision to onboard Guthrie as host, gushing, "I'm so happy it's you. We were looking, we're like, 'Who's the perfect host of this?'"

"We need to have someone that looks like they play Wordle, someone that knows how to run a show and host it, and we did the pilot, and you are amazing, by the way," he added.



Guthrie shared that the new game show will be "super fast-paced and fun" and a "great family game."

"I love a game and a show that you can watch with kids and you feel like they're learning some things," she told Fallon.





Guthrie also took a beat to thank the crew behind the upcoming show, whom she shared had put things on hold when Guthrie took time off after her mother was reported missing on Feb. 1.

"We've been working on this for a really long time, and actually we just found out in February that we got picked up and we were supposed to shoot in March," she explained.

"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.' And 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."



Fallon assured her that they "can't do it without you," to which Guthrie admitted that it felt strange to be celebrating amid her personal turmoil. The news of her upcoming gig comes as the search for Nancy surpasses the three-month mark. Sunday marked the first Mother's Day since the 84-year-old's disappearance.

"It kind of feels strange to do everything right now, but this is something that's full of joy," Guthrie shared.

https://ew.com/savannah-guthrie-announces-new-game-show-host-gig-wordle-11971256