Savannah Guthrie to Host Wordle Game Show on NBC

Savannah Guthrie has a new job — and she’s been sitting on the news for a very long time.

On Monday’s episode of Today, Guthrie and Jimmy Fallon officially announced that a Wordle game show is coming to NBC — with Guthrie, 54, at the helm. Fallon, who serves as executive producer, made the reveal during the 8 a.m. hour, kicking things off with characteristic enthusiasm.

“This is very exciting, I have a big announcement to make,” Fallon said. “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, a self-described Wordle devotee, lit up. “We’ve been holding this secret between us for a long time now,” she said, “and we’re going to make Wordle a game show.”

The show, based on the wildly popular New York Times online puzzle that launched in 2022, will challenge players to solve five-letter word puzzles in what’s being described as a “supersized battle of smarts, speed and fun.” According to the official synopsis, the format builds on the way the Wordle community already plays — “solving together, sharing wins, debating strategies and cheering one another on” — but now the most obsessed and competitive players will team up in squads and go head-to-head in a Wordle arena, competing for a cash prize.

Guthrie teased that it’s “super fast-paced and fun” and very much a family show. “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 backed that up: “Everyone can play, and it’s not like a trivia game where you have to know all these things and facts. It’s like, you’re just trying to guess a word.”

When Guthrie asked Fallon for hosting tips, he basically told her she didn’t need any. “We all thought, ‘Oh, you’re going to be great.’ And then you did it, and like 200 crew and cast, everyone was like, ‘We can’t do this show without Savannah Guthrie.’” Guthrie, ever self-deprecating, joked that she figured he picked her “because I have a skirt that looks like a Wordle.”

Carson Daly and Craig Melvin surprised her with Wordle merch baskets to mark the moment — a fun touch that made the morning feel, briefly, like a celebration.

The Thank-You That Said Everything

But beneath the excitement, there was something heavier — and Guthrie didn’t shy away from it.

She revealed that the show was supposed to shoot back in March, but everything stopped when her world fell apart. “We just found out in February that we got picked up and we were supposed to shoot in March,” she said. “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’s response was simple: “We can’t do it without you.”

Guthrie acknowledged the strange emotional territory she’s navigating. “It kind of feels strange to do everything right now,” she admitted on air, “but this is something that’s full of joy.”

She told The New York Times even more directly: “Everything is strange right now. 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, but I’m determined to put one foot in front of the other. And this is a joyous thing.”

She also shared a detail that hit differently given everything: she showed her mother the game show’s pilot in December 2025. Nancy and Savannah had bonded over Wordle.

100 Days, and Still No Answers

Savannah’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona home on February 1. She was last seen alive on January 31. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said early in the investigation that there were “concerning circumstances” found at Nancy’s home, and described her as mentally alert but not in good physical health. “I hope we find her safe and sound,” he told reporters, “but we can’t ignore what’s in front of us.”

As of Monday’s announcement, it has been over 100 days. No suspect has been identified, no motive established. Several ransom letters were allegedly received by TMZ and local news outlets during the investigation. The FBI released photos and video of an unidentified person outside Nancy’s home, and a $100,000 reward remains available for any information leading to her recovery or an arrest.

Savannah took two months away from Today before returning to the anchor desk on April 6. Before she came back, she sat down with Hoda Kotb in an emotional interview that left viewers gutted. “Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony,” she said. “And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night. Every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable.”

She also opened up about a guilt she can’t shake — the fear that her public profile made her mother a target. “It’s just too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside,” she told Kotb. “That it’s because of me. I have to say I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.”

On Mother’s Day, the day before Monday’s announcement, Savannah posted an emotional tribute to Nancy on Instagram — a collection of video clips, and words that were hard to read.

“Mother, daughter, sister, Nonie — we miss you with our every breath. We will never stop looking for you. We will never be at peace until we find you. We need help. Someone knows something that can make the difference. Call 1800CALLFBI. You can be anonymous, and the reward remains available. Please keep praying. Bring her home. 💛”

Her husband, Mike Feldman, 57, honored Savannah that same day on Instagram, posting a photo of her with their two kids — Vale, 11, and Charley, 9 — and writing: “To the strongest person I know. Surrounding you with love on Mother’s Day. ❤️💔❤️.”

The Wordle game show films this summer in Manchester, England. If you want to be in that arena, casting is open now. And if you know anything about Nancy Guthrie, the FBI tip line is 1-800-CALL-FBI.