Ahead of its annual upfront presentation to ad buyers, NBC on Monday morning announced a series order for Wordle, a game show based on the popular New York Times Games puzzle.
Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon serves as an executive producer through his Electric Hot Dog shingle. Today vet and avid Wordle player Savannah Guthrie, as previously announced, will host the adaptation.
“I feel very honored to be working with Savannah Guthrie on this show,” Fallon said in a statement. “Savannah has that rare combination of intelligence, charm, and warmth that makes everyone feel instantly welcome. And she obviously knows how to host a show.”
With a nod to Wordle’s five-letter puzzles, he added: “I am SUPER PROUD and HAPPY and I think we developed a SOLID GAMER for PRIME-time.”
Produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio in partnership with Electric Hot Dog and The New York Times, the Wordle TV series challenges players to solve five-letter word puzzles “in a supersized battle of smarts, speed and fun.”
Production is set to begin this summer, Guthrie shared Monday on Today, with an eye on a 2027 launch.
Guthrie has been a frequent guest of Fallon’s since her first appearance on Late Night in 2013, and to date has visited his Tonight Show 11 times. She recently returned to Today after taking time off to process and focus on the kidnapping of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, which as of this Tuesday has gone unsolved for 100 days.
Fallon’s own love of Wordle was highlighted in a January 2022 installment of The Tonight Show, where he spent nearly seven minutes trying to solve that day’s puzzle on air.
Fallon has been planting flags in NBC’s primetime programming slate for years, producing game shows like That’s My Jam and Password for the network through Electric Hot Dog, in partnership with UTAS. He also took on on-screen duties for those productions, hosting That’s My Jam and serving as a permanent contestant on Password.
In fall of last year, he added to the mix On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, a reality competition series that aired Tuesday and Friday nights. Alas, that proved to be one-and-done, its cancelation reported this morning ahead of NBC’s upfront event.
Casting for NBC’s Wordle is currently open; interested applicants can visit wordle.castingcrane.com. Watch Guthrie and Fallon discuss the announcement below.
