NBC Orders Wordle Game Show Hosted by Guthrie

NBC has ordered a primetime game show adaptation of the New York Times puzzle Wordle, with Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie set to host and Jimmy Fallon serving as an executive producer. The series order was announced Monday during a Today broadcast, where Guthrie and Fallon revealed details of the project, which has been in development for two and a half years.

The half-hour competition will challenge teams of contestants to solve five-letter word puzzles in a high-stakes arena, mirroring the daily game's format of six guesses aided by color-coded feedback on letters. Players will compete for cash prizes, building on Wordle's communal appeal of sharing scores and strategies. Production is slated to begin later this year in Manchester, England, following a pilot episode filmed there last fall. An exact premiere date has not been set, though the show is expected in 2027.

Guthrie, a self-described avid Wordle player, filmed the pilot in December and even shared it with her mother at the time. The project faced a delay earlier this year after the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, who was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona,...