Savannah Guthrie Says NBC Paused 'Wordle' Show During Family Crisis

Savannah Guthrie served a dose of excitement with an emotional edge when she announced her major new role at NBC, sharing that the network delayed production on its upcoming Wordle game show after her mother disappeared earlier this year.

According to People, The 54-year-old TODAY co-anchor and the show's executive producer, Jimmy Fallon, shared the news on Monday's episode. NBC is adapting the popular New York Times word game Wordle into a television show. But the announcement quickly became personal.

Guthrie was grateful to NBC for delaying the project because of what she was going through at the time. The host told viewers that the Wordle show had been picked up months ago and that filming was originally supposed to start in March before her family crisis changed everything.

“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,” Guthrie said during TODAY.

She then thanked the key players, including Fallon, for putting the production on hold after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing at the beginning of February.

“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,’” Guthrie said.

“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.”

What started off as a giddy, excited moment quickly pivoted as it turned emotional. And it stood out, as Guthrie explained why she was so grateful to the stakeholders for putting the game show on pause for her stake.

Guthrie stepped away from TODAY earlier this year after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home. While authorities haven't identified any suspects, surveillance footage shows a masked man was at her mother's house that night.

The FBI later announced a $100,000 reward, which the Guthries then upped to $1 million for any information that led to the Nancy's whereabouts or an arrest.

In the meantime, the family is still trying to come to grips with the matriarch's disappearance. Savannah posted a heartfelt message on Mother's Day, while her husband marked the 100-day mark with a post of his own.

Fallon and Guthrie officially unveiled the new NBC series, revealing that the network and producers had quietly spent years developing the game show concept.

“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,” Fallon said.

Guthrie replied, “We've been holding this secret between us for a long time now. And we're going to make Wordle a game show.”

Fallon praised Guthrie saying that the producers immediately knew that she was perfect for the role.

“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,” Fallon joked.

“And we did the pilot, and you are amazing, by the way.”

Guthrie responded with humor of her own. “I thought you picked me because I have a skirt that looks like a Wordle,” she said.

“I love a game and a show that you can watch with kids and you feel like they're learning some things,” Guthrie added.