The news comes three months after the "Today" co-host's mother, Nancy Guthrie, was abducted from her home and remains missing.
Key Points
- Savannah Guthrie announced she'll be hosting a new show at NBC during Monday's episode of the Today show.
- Guthrie will serve as the host for a Wordle game show, which will see contestants compete for money, executive-produced by Jimmy Fallon and premiering on NBC.
- "It kind of feels strange to do everything right now, but this is something that's full of joy," Guthrie said.
Today anchor Savannah Guthrie is celebrating some good news amid the ongoing search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.
On Monday, the morning show anchor announced that she will be adding a new hosting gig to her resume during an appearance by Jimmy Fallon, an executive producer on the upcoming show.
"This is very exciting, I have a big announcement to make," The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon host excitedly shared. "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 will oversee the Wordle arena as host of the game show, which will see contestants compete for money. The online game, which first launched in 2021 before it was acquired by The New York Times a year later, has become an undeniable global phenomenon with players trying to solve a new puzzle daily.
"We've been holding this secret between us for a long time now," Guthrie told Monday's audience. "And we're going to make Wordle a game show."
Fallon shared insight on the decision to onboard Guthrie as host, gushing, "I'm so happy it's you. We were looking, we're like, 'Who's the perfect host of 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," he added.
While Guthrie joked that she thought Fallon picked her as a host for her Wordle-like outfit, the broadcast journalist is well-known for being an avid Wordle player for years. In March 2025, she took on "every word nerd's dream and possible nightmare" when she solved a mega-sized Wordle game on Time Square's Mega-Zilla screen.
Guthrie shared that the new game 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 told Fallon.
Guthrie also took a beat to thank the crew behind the upcoming show, whom she shared had put things on hold when Guthrie took time off after her mother was reported missing on Feb. 1.
"We've been working on this for a really long time, and actually we just found out in February that we got picked up and we were supposed to shoot in March," she explained. "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 assured the Today show co-anchor that they "can't do it without you," to which Guthrie admitted that it felt strange to be celebrating amid her personal turmoil. The news of her upcoming gig comes as the search for Nancy surpasses the three-month mark. Sunday marked the first Mother's Day since the 84-year-old's disappearance.
"It kind of feels strange to do everything right now, but this is something that's full of joy," Guthrie shared.
Her Today co-anchor Craig Melvin then teased Fallon, "Jimmy, again, you can't do it without her — neither can we. So you can borrow her for a little while, but make sure you return her."
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Guthrie will begin filming the Wordle game show this summer — and viewers can stay tuned for an air date.
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