Jimmy Fallon ‘in talks’ to turn Wordle into a TV game show

The minimalist online word puzzle game went viral during the Covid lockdown

Wordle, the online word puzzle game that turned into a global obsession during the Covid pandemic, is reportedly being made into a television game show, with late night host Jimmy Fallon involved in its production.

NBC is currently piloting the game show, with Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie signed on as host and Fallon’s production company Electric Hot Dog involved in development, according to Deadline.

The pilot will reportedly serve as a test run to help NBC decide whether to commission the yet-untitled project for a full series.

Fallon, who will serve as executive producer, already has a track record producing entertainment formats for NBC, including That’s My Jam and the network’s revival of Password.

During the height of Wordle’s popularity in early 2022, the The Tonight Show host played the puzzle live, joking that he was “addicted” to the daily challenge and sharing his attempts with viewers.

NBC is currently piloting the game show, with Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie signed on as host and Fallon to produce (Getty Images)

The pilot, which is also produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio, is reportedly filming in the United Kingdom.

Guthrie brings game show experience to the project, having guest-hosted Jeopardy! during the period following Alex Trebek’s death in 2021. She also co-hosts NBC’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade coverage.

The Independent has reached out to representatives for NBC, Fallon, and Guthrie for comment.

The minimalist five-letter guessing game began as a simple browser game created by software developer Josh Wardle in 2021 for his partner, who loves word games. Players are given six chances to guess a secret five-letter word, receiving feedback via coloured tiles that signal correct letters in the right place or correct letters in the wrong place.

The game’s formula was intentionally spare, and quickly became a ritual among users who shared their puzzle-results online without revealing the word itself.The game also counts the present Pope Leo as one of its fans, who made sure to finish the daily puzzle before he entered conclave earlier this year, and Queen Camilla, who shared in 2022 that she plays Wordle with her granddaughter every day.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

In January 2022, The New York Times acquired Wordle for an undisclosed “seven-figure sum”, folding it into its growing portfolio of digital puzzles.

According to the publication, Wordle was played 5.3 billion times in 2024. Since its viral rise, Wordle has inspired numerous adaptations and spin-offs. The New York Times itself has launched variations such as Wordle Bot, which analyses player performance, and Connections and Strands, both puzzle formats influenced by its success.

Independently, fans have created hundreds of unofficial versions, including Heardle for guessing songs, Worldle for identifying countries by their outlines, and Nerdle for solving maths equations, each borrowing the same daily-play structure that made Wordle a global hit.

Multiple people on X, formerly Twitter, have brought up the similarity between the already-existing game show Lingo and the proposed Wordle game. Lingo, which first aired in the US in 1987 and has since been adapted in the UK and the Netherlands, features contestants attempting to guess five-letter words using clues about correct letters and their positions, quite similar to Wordle’s core mechanic.