For the first time since her return to the TODAY show in April, Savannah Guthrie failed to show up for work on the June 17 episode of the NBC News program. While her two-month hiatus from the show earlier this year had to do with the ongoing missing case of her mother, Guthrie’s latest absence happened for an entirely different reason.
Savannah Guthrie’s absence from Today show explained
On June 17, the fan-favorite broadcast journalist missed out on an appearance on her news program due to her commitment to another NBC project.
While many viewers would have assumed that Savannah Guthrie’s Wednesday absence was due to the disappearance of her mother, Nancy, her TODAY co-host Craig Melvin explained that it actually had to do with her involvement in NBC’s upcoming Wordle game show. He revealed that Guthrie was “starting production meetings on the Wordle game show coming to NBC later this year” (via USA Today).
Notably, NBC had confirmed the 54-year-old anchor as the host of its new game series in May 2026. While specific details regarding the program remain under wraps at the time of writing, it is clear that the show will draw inspiration from the celebrated word game of The New York Times Games.
Previously, Savannah Guthrie had taken a two-month hiatus from the TODAY show following her mother’s unexplained disappearance from her residence in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. Since then, authorities have taken extensive measures to locate the 84-year-old, but to no avail. At the time of writing, officials have not been able to find any credible update in the Nancy Guthrie missing case.
Earlier this month, Guthrie also opened up about coming back to work despite her mother’s disappearance. While she admitted that she cries “every morning on the way to work,” she added that she continues to show up at work as her mother would’ve wanted her to “keep going.”
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
