Wordle’s getting a TV adaptation made in partnership with Jimmy Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog, please pray for our guides writers

Wordle. A lot of people play it. In turn, a lot of guides writers at sites across the internet have to play it as part of their jobs, so that they can provide that big bunch of players with answers and helpful hints. It’s relentless work that’s invaluable in helping keep the likes of us full-time newsers and critics in jobs and one that might now end up leading these talented folks to have to bravely do something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy – watching a TV show about regular people solving word puzzles that’s being made in partnership with Jimmy Fallon’s production company.

I can hear the screams from outside of the RPS editorial cupboard already, as they read this report from Wordle owners the New York Times. NBC have greenlit a primetime game show based on Wordle, it reads, adding that the show will “feature teams of players competing to solve five-letter word puzzles in a high-energy, collaborative environment”. The screams are only getting louder.

Universal Television Alternative Studio is producing it, in partnership with Jimmy Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog and The New York Times. The screams are nearly deafening now. Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC’s morning show Today, in which a number of American anchors with very white teeth and very formal attire discuss things happening, er, today. The screams have stayed at a similar decibel level there, I assume because they’re not familiar with Guthrie’s work and want to give her a chance in this new gig.

“As we met with different production companies, it became clear that Jimmy Fallon and Jim Juvonen at Electric Hot Dog really understood what makes Wordle special,” Caitlin Roper, the NYT’s executive editorial director of film and TV, said. “They bring strong game development experience both on ‘The Tonight Show,’ where they’ve explored all kinds of gameplay, and in their other shows like ‘That’s My Jam’ and ‘Password,’ but also a real appreciation for the original game of Wordle, which was super important to us. Jimmy plays Wordle every day with his daughters. And he’s such an ambassador of gameplay, inviting all kinds of people in to play alongside him. Savannah absolutely loves Wordle and she is also really good at it.”

Ah no, the screams have gone up in volume again. I’m going to link our past Wordle answers page and hope that helps them calm down a bit. I’m too scared to poke my head out of the cupboard and check, lest Jeremy, Callum, and Ollie rip me out and begin to tear my paper-thin body to pieces in blind panic and rage.

Hopefully the screaming stops soon. I fear the headlines, indie games, and hardware I’ve dished out to my cupboard mates Julian, Edwin, and James – in order to keep them from being freaked out by the cacophony – last long enough. While I wait with bated breath, you can apply to be a contestant on the Wordle show here, assuming you’re eligible.