NBC to Turn Wordle Into a TV Game Show, With Savannah Guthrie as Host
NBC is betting that a cell app phrase sport might change into a broadcast hit.
The community stated on Monday that it deliberate to produce a sport present primarily based on Wordle, the puzzle sport revealed by The New York Times that challenges gamers to deduce a five-letter phrase in six guesses or much less.
The sequence, hosted by the “Today” present anchor Savannah Guthrie, is ready to start airing on NBC prime time subsequent yr. The Times will serve as a manufacturing associate, alongside Jimmy Fallon, the host of “The Tonight Show.”
“Wordle” — the TV present, that’s — is the primary occasion of The Times associating itself with a prime-time leisure program on a main broadcaster. The firm has beforehand collaborated with cable and streaming channels on documentary sequence primarily based on its journalism as properly as variations of long-running options like “Modern Love.”
That The Times is co-producing a half-hour selection present the place contestants compete for a money prize displays partially the corporate’s diversification lately. Its Games app, which incorporates the Crossword, Spelling Bee, Wordle and different enjoyable, is amongst its hottest merchandise.
The TV sequence shall be filmed in Manchester, England, and is anticipated to replicate the Wordle typeface and shade scheme. Representatives for The Times and NBC declined to say how a lot The Times can be paid by the community.
Wordle, which The Times acquired in 2022 for a low seven-figure sumyou may have made cameos on the small display earlier than. By 2024 episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” explored the observe of spoiling Wordle solutions out of spite. (“I’m a Wordle wizard,” Richard Lewis bragged to Larry David.)
Ms. Guthrie stated in an interview that she was an avid fan of the sport who shared her scores with associates on a number of group texts. One, referred to as “Wordle Nerdle,” consists of her co-host Carson Daly and his spouse.
Filming of “Wordle” was delayed after the disappearance in February of Ms. Guthrie’s 84-year-old mom, Nancy, who stays lacking. Ms. Guthrie took an prolonged depart from “Today” earlier than returning to the program in April.
Ms. Guthrie stated within the interview that Wordle had been a level of connection between her and her mom. In December, she confirmed her the sport present’s pilot.
“Everything is strange right now,” Ms. Guthrie stated. “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,” she added, “but I’m determined to put one foot in front of the other. And this is a joyous thing.”
