Savannah Guthrie is stepping into a new role at NBC.
The Today anchor, 54, announced during Monday’s morning show that the network is launching a new game show based on Wordle — the popular online word game owned by The New York Times — with the help of executive producer Jimmy Fallon.
“This is very exciting, I have a big announcement to make,” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon host said on Today.
“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 added: “We’ve been holding this secret between us for a long time now.”
Wordle is a daily puzzle game that became a global phenomenon after its launch in 2021, leading to it being acquired by The New York Times a year later.
While the format of the game show still remains a mystery, Guthrie teased that the 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 said.
Fallon said Guthrie, a known Wordle player, was the perfect choice to host the show.
“We were looking, we’re like, ‘Who’s the perfect host for this? We need to have someone that looks like they play Wordle, someone that knows how to run a show and host it,’” Fallon said. “And we did the pilot, and you are amazing.”
The Today co-anchor is set to film the game show this summer, and casting for the show is currently open until May 29. The air date has not yet been announced.
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Guthrie said that the game show was originally scheduled to start filming in March, but she had to step away from the show amid the search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Nancy, 84, disappeared from her Arizona home nearly 100 days ago in what investigators believe was an abduction. There is no evidence as to whether Nancy is alive, and no suspect has been identified in the case.
“When everything happened with me and my family, they just stopped everything and said, ‘We’ll wait for you,’” Guthrie said. “And Hollywood is like a really tough business, as you know, and I didn’t expect that. And I just want to say, thank you. It means so much to me.”
Fallon responded, “We can’t do it without you. We need you, bud. You’re so good, and it’s so fun. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It’s fantastic.”