Wordle is leaving the phone screen and heading for primetime. NBC has confirmed that the puzzle game will become a TV show next year, with Savannah Guthrie set to host and filming scheduled to take place in Manchester, England.
The half-hour programme will put contestants through Wordle-style rounds for a cash prize, and it is expected to mirror the game’s familiar typeface and colour scheme. Casting for the first season is now open, production is due to begin later this year, and the series is scheduled to premiere in 2027.
Jimmy Fallon, whose production company Electric Hot Dog will co-produce the series, said he was “very honoured to be working with Savannah Guthrie on this show.” He added that Guthrie has “that rare combination of intelligence, charm, and warmth that makes everyone feel instantly welcome,” and said, “And she obviously knows how to host a show. I am super proud and happy and I think we developed a solid gamer for prime-time.”
The project gives a new broadcast life to a game that has already become part of daily routine for millions. Wordle was created in 2021 by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle, and acquired it in 2022. Since then, the puzzle has been published daily by the newspaper, asking players to find the same five-letter word in six guesses or fewer using coloured tile feedback. It was also the most Googled word of 2022.
For Guthrie, the show carries a more personal weight. Filming was delayed after the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, in February, and Guthrie later took an extended break from Today before returning in April. She has previously said the word game was a point of connection between her and her mother, who remains missing.
That makes the new show more than just another game-format adaptation. It is NBC’s bet that a puzzle built for quiet moments on a phone can still draw an audience to a studio, and that Wordle’s simple, daily format can stretch into a cash-prize TV competition without losing what made it stick in the first place.
