By India McCarty
Wordle fans, rejoice! A game show version of the popular New York Times puzzle is in development at NBC.
“The project comes from Universal Television Alternative Studio and Jimmy Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog company,” The Hollywood Reporter revealed. “The Times is also a production partner.”
TODAY host and Wordle superfan Savannah Guthrie is set to host the show, with Fallon serving as an executive producer. If NBC goes forward with the Wordle game show, it will join THE TONIGHT SHOW host’s roster of game shows, including PASSWORD and ON BRAND.
Wordle Game Show in the Works From Jimmy Fallon and NBC; Savannah Guthrie to Host https://t.co/eN24TVXAoA
Related: Netflix Announces Game Show Inspired By Beloved Board Game
— Variety (@Variety) October 7, 2025
“The New York Times began exploring the idea of a Wordle television game show and chose to partner with Fallon and develop the idea with UTAS for the broadcast network,” Deadline reported.
Wordle was officially acquired by NYT in 2022. The popular puzzle game gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word, revealing if letters have been placed correctly, with a green background, or incorrectly, with a gold background. There is also just one puzzle available per day.
Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, talked to CNBC about Wordle’s popularity, saying the game fulfills the “ABC of human needs.”
“A is autonomy. We want to feel like we’re in control of our lives, B is belongingness. We want to feel like we’re connected to other people,” he explained. “And the C is competence. We like feeling [we’re] good at something.”
Michael Toma, a cognitive psychologist, added, “The rules are few and the overall objective is relatively easy to comprehend, which lends to notions of instant gratification. Beyond the six tries and one word, I also believe the chosen word length of five letters allows for a healthy balance of challenge and fun that contributes to the overall engagement.”
Kelli Dunlap, a clinical psychologist and game design professor at American University, told CNBC that its one-puzzle-a-day rule also contributes to Wordle’s popularity, as there is a sense of anticipation, so “it gives you something to look forward to.”
She also commented on the “bite-sized amount of fun” of the game, saying, “One of the nice things about Wordle being very short, very time limited, is that that sense of guilt, of ‘Oh well, I should be doing something else,’ it doesn’t kick in.”
If NBC goes ahead with the plans for a Wordle game show, that bite-size fun will be coming soon to your TV screen!
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