Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona on February 1 and amid the ongoing family crisis, the Today show anchor has announced a major new project.
On Monday, May 11, Jimmy Fallon appeared on the Today show to reveal that the popular New York Times puzzle game Wordle is being turned into an NBC game show Guthrie will host it. “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,” Fallon said on air.
“We are making Wordle game show with our host, Savannah Guthrie!” he added as per TV Insider.
What the show will look like?
The game show is based on the New York Times word-guessing game which launched in 2022. Fallon, who is executive producing the show, described it as accessible and fun for everyone. “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,” he said, per TV Insider.
Guthrie added that the format is “super-fast-paced and fun,” calling it a great family watch. “I love a game and a show that you can watch with your kids, and it’s fun, and you feel like they’re learning something,” she said.
Finding the right host was central to the whole project and Fallon made clear Guthrie was the unanimous choice. “We were looking, and we were 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,’ And we did the pilot and you are amazing by the way.” The entire cast and crew were reportedly sold. “200 crew and cast, everyone was like, ‘We can’t do this show without Savannah Guthrie.’ You are fantastic on it,” Fallon added.
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Savannah Guthrie thanks NBC for delaying ‘Wordle’ show amid family crisis
According to Page Six, news that Savannah Guthrie would host the Wordle game show first surfaced in October 2025 but the official announcement took much longer than expected. The show was picked up in February and filming was supposed to begin in March, but plans were delayed because of a personal crisis in Guthrie’s life.
Savannah’s mother, Nancy Guthrie was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona on February 1 and since then no suspect has been identified so far. And all this led to the Today show anchor to step away from her show for two months. She returned to the show last month while the investigation into her mother’s disappearance continues.
During Monday’s announcement, Guthrie thanked NBC, the production team and everyone involved for supporting her during the difficult time. “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, as you know, and I didn’t expect that. And I just want to say thank you. It means so much to me,” she said.
Also Read: Why did Savannah Guthrie wear yellow for her ‘Today’ return? Surprising Nancy Guthrie connection revealed
Savannah’s tribute to her mom
Over the weekend, ahead of Mother’s Day, Guthrie posted a tribute to her missing mother on Instagram, writing: “We miss you with every breath. We will never stop looking for you. We will never be at peace until we find you.”
Her husband, Michael Feldman also shared an emotional post on Instagram on Sunday, calling Savannah “the strongest person.” On Monday, Guthrie also wore yellow a color she has used as a symbol of hope and remembrance for her mother’s return.
