Savannah Guthrie is taking a temporary break from Today — and her announcement came on the same day her co-host Craig Melvin was caught up in a frightening security scare at NBC’s New York headquarters.
Guthrie revealed Thursday morning, July 16, that she will be stepping away from the morning show for the next few weeks to film a new television project.
“We’re about to do it. Guys, I’m headed over to shoot Wordle over the next few weeks,” Guthrie said on Today, confirming she will host the new game show based on the hugely popular online word puzzle.
“We’re going to shoot the whole season, and we’re super excited,” she added. “I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It’ll probably air, I think, in the new year.”
The move comes as Guthrie has also been dealing with a deeply personal situation. The search for her missing mother, Nancy, is nearing the six-month mark.
Guthrie’s new project has been in the works for some time. Jimmy Fallon, who is producing the Wordle game show, first announced it in May during an appearance on Today.
At the time, Fallon said he and the New York Times had been developing the puzzle into a TV game show for “the past two and a half years.”
“I know, we’ve been holding this secret between us for like, a long time now,” Guthrie said during that May segment.
Fallon also brought along clips from the pilot, showing Guthrie on a sleek set surrounded by the familiar yellow, green, and gray Wordle squares. The footage also showed her interacting with an enthusiastic contestant.
Fallon said the team knew they needed the right kind of host for the show.
“We were like, who’s the perfect host for this? We need to have someone who looks like they play Wordle. Someone who knows how to run a show and host it,” he said.
“We did the pilot, and you were amazing,” Fallon told Guthrie.
While Guthrie was celebrating her new role, her Today colleague Craig Melvin was dealing with a frightening situation of his own.
Melvin, 47, was reportedly approached by an unknown man Thursday morning as he entered NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The incident happened just hours after Guthrie’s announcement.
In a statement, NYPD officials said officers received a report at around 9:19 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2026, about a disorderly person inside 30 Rockefeller Center, which is located within the Midtown North Precinct.
Police said officers responded and took an unidentified individual into custody. No injuries were reported.
According to reports, the man managed to get past security and into a restricted backstage area, apparently near the dressing rooms. He allegedly approached Melvin and lunged at him while yelling a racial slur.
The disturbing encounter did not happen on air.
Witnesses said Melvin was quickly surrounded by several people after the scare. It was later reported that he may not have been the intruder’s original target, as the man was allegedly looking for Today weatherman Al Roker.
The situation remains under investigation.
The incident quickly raised questions online about security at NBC, especially around one of the most famous morning shows in the country.
“This is absolutely shocking and completely unacceptable behavior,” one person wrote on X.
Another questioned how the man was able to get so close to the Today team, writing, “Security around live TV shows seems tighter for fans than for actual intruders. How does someone get that close?”
A third person added, “Live TV security has one job, and this sounds like a pretty loud failure.”
For Today viewers, it made for an unusually eventful morning. Guthrie is heading off to film a major new game show, while Melvin’s close call has left many asking how a stranger allegedly got so far inside one of NBC’s most high-profile buildings.
