Wordle to launch as TV game show with Savannah Guthrie as host and Jimmy Fallon co-producing

Wordle, the popular online word game, is coming to our screens as a game show.

Savannah Guthrie, co-host of Today on the US channel NBC, will present the new format, which challenges players to solve five-letter word puzzles for a cash prize.

Announcing the news, alongside Jimmy Fallon on the morning TV show, she said the filming had been delayed after the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.

Wordle is being produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS), known for such shows as Made In Chelsea and more recently Saturday Night Live UK.

The show, described as a "fresh, fast-paced format", will be a co-production with Jimmy Fallon's Electric Hot Dog and The New York Times.

Ms Guthrie thanked producers for sticking with her as host after her mother went missing from her home in Arizona in January.

"We were supposed to shoot in March, and I want to say a quick thank you to NBC, and to Jimmy and his production company and The New York Times and the studio, Universal, because... when everything happened with me and my family, they just stopped everything, and said 'we'll wait for you'," she said.

The network picked up the show after a successful pilot show featuring Ms Guthrie.

An online application form for the show said contestants are required to be US citizens and be prepared to "travel to Europe".

UTAS, formerly called Monkey, has bases in London and Manchester, and is one four studios which operate under NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, also the parent company of Sky News.

NBCUniversal said that Wordle, which originally launched in 2021 and was acquired by The New York Times in 2022, "has become a cultural phenomenon, engaging millions of daily players worldwide".

In a statement, Jimmy Fallon said Savannah Guthrie was the ideal choice for host because of her "rare combination of intelligence, charm, and warmth".

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"I am super proud and happy, and I think we developed a solid gamer for prime time," he added.

Caitlin Roper, executive editorial director of film and TV at The New York Times, said the newspaper began developing a Wordle game show several years ago.

"Teaming up with Jimmy Fallon to develop the game for NBC was a perfect fit," she said in a statement.

Production on the show is set to begin in July, and it is scheduled to premiere in 2027.

(c) Sky News 2026: Wordle to launch as TV game show with Savannah Guthrie as host and Jimmy Fallon co-producing