What To Know
- Savannah Guthrie was absent from NBC’s Today on Wednesday, June 17.
- Craig Melvin revealed the fun reason for his co-anchor’s absence.
- Last month, Jimmy Fallon announced on Today that Guthrie will host NBC’s upcoming Wordle game show.
Savannah Guthrie had a fun reason for missing Today on Wednesday, June 17.
Craig Melvin kicked off the 8 a.m. ET hour of Wednesday’s episode by revealing why Guthrie was absent from the NBC morning show. “Good to see all of those smiling faces out on the plaza. Good to see you, as well. Thank you for starting your Wednesday morning with us,” he shared. “Sheinelle [Jones] is in for Savannah, who, by the way, is starting production meetings on the Wordle game show, coming to NBC later this year.”
Jones, for her part, said she was “looking forward” to seeing the game show.
News broke in October 2025 that NBC had tapped Guthrie to host a new game show inspired by the hit New York Times game Wordle. At the time, multiple outlets reported that a pilot would be filmed in the U.K. The series was in development from Jimmy Fallon‘s Electric Hot Dog company, Universal Television Alternative Studio, and the NY Times.
Fallon stopped by Today on May 11 to confirm the project. “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,” he announced. “We are making Wordle [the] game show with our host, Savannah Guthrie!”
Guthrie added, “We’ve been holding this secret between us for, like, a long time, and we’re gonna make Wordle a game show.”
Fallon went on to call Guthrie the “perfect host,” as she has been a Worldle fan for several years. “We did the pilot, and you are amazing, by the time,” he gushed. Describing the show, he continued, “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.”
Guthrie teased that the show will be “super-fast-paced and fun, and it’s a great family game,” adding, “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.”
Guthrie noted that the series was originally picked up by NBC in February and was supposed to start shooting in March. Production was delayed, however, in the wake of the disappearance of Savannah’s mother, Nancy Guthrie. (Nancy was reported missing in Arizona in February. The investigation remains ongoing.)
“I just want to say a quick thank you to NBC and to Jimmy and his production company and the New York Times and Studio Universal because when everything happened with me and my family, they just stopped everything and said, ‘We’ll wait for you,’” she stated. “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.”
Fallon told Savannah they “need” Savannah for the show. While Savannah said it feels strange to work on the show amid “everything right now,” she also noted that it is “something that’s full of joy.”
Today, Weekdays, 7 am/6c, NBC