It's Official: Jimmy Fallon Will Replace Jay Leno as Host of The Tonight Show in 2014
After 22 years of Headlines, that trademark snicker, and Kardashian jokes, Jay Leno, the very disputed king of late night, will step down from his position as host of NBC's iconic The Tonight Show next spring. Leno and NBC announced the news today via press release after weeks of speculation (and weeks of NBC denying it), confirming that Leno's time as the man who puts America to bed is nearing its end.
Taking over for Leno will be the current vice president of NBC's late-night lineup, Jimmy Fallon, host of the 12:30am Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon has found success by embracing what the young kids call "the power of the internet," using short-form viral videos, memes, and Twitter to transform his late-night program into a fountain of shareable, easy-to-digest tidbits for those of us who have jobs and can't stay up late enough to watch him. (For more info, read this great article by my TV writer crush Laura Bennett on how Fallon has adapted.) Fallon's approach obviously appeals to NBC, who sees this style of late-night entertainment as the future, and in the face of ABC moving the hipper Jimmy Kimmel up to 11:35pm, probably thought, "the sooner the better."
There has been no announcement of who will replace Fallon as his follow-up, but expect something soon (SNL's Seth Meyers is the rumored frontrunner.)
Leno's departure will take place at the end of his current contract; NBC said, "We are purposefully making this change when Jay is #1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was #1." But that's obviously B.S., because it's also time for both sides to move on. NBC and Leno have had a rocky relationship, and the good days the two shared are long gone, as evidenced by Leno's recent jabs at the network in his nightly monologue.
The thing I find most interesting here is that this should be huge news, but late-night television isn't as important as it used to be, at least in my house. I'd rather spend the hour catching up on my DVR's backlog or watching something on Adult Swim than hearing the today's news filtered through the brains of tired hacks who are desperate to pull out a punchline of any sort. So congratulations to Jimmy Fallon and farewell (or good riddance) to Jay Leno, but I'll be watching last week's Nashville instead. Call me when Louie gets a tryout.
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I do think Conan was screwed by NBC but I don't blame Leno for that. They tried to force Leno to quit the show before he was ready because they had to cater to Conan and made a mess of the whole thing that resulted in them loosing Conan to another network, just like they did with Letterman. NBC is doing a good job of creating it's own competition.
I don't think Leno will be back for a talk show. I think he's getting tired of it. But I could see him hosting specials or game shows. I wouldn't be surprised if he even produces a sitcom. (I think he would be better at it then Conan.)
Although, personally if I was Jimmy I wouldn't believe it until I was first asked to be a pallbearer at Leno's funeral.
I don't think NBC will mess with Fallon, as they should have learned a lesson from the Leno/Conan mess. If the ratings tank, then we'll see, but until then I think they'll mostly leave him alone.
Ferguson is losing me. I find he's becoming more obnoxious for some reason. I wonder if he's tiring of the show? He's become somewhat repetitive; he's now yelling about "Secretariat" not being real instead of going along with the whimsical humor of believing it is; he misses opportunities for us to get to know guests you won't see on other shows, like Dr. Who cast members, by wasting their time and ours with too much b.s. nonsense that he should dial it back a bit on; he comes back from commercial with same guest only to say, "we're out of time", so what's the point of the guest remaining for that?. I miss the singing puppets and it seems he's not developing any skits or similar bits like Aquaman, Prince Charles, and such anymore (Not that I liked them, but he was doing something then). Even the female "censor" is gone now without anyone noticing. I may have answered my own question.
I only watch Conan if he has someone on I am interested in, which is very rare.
Leno should do a "Jay's Garage" series for Velocity, Speed, or Discovery channel.
Look them in the eye and speak from the heart.
You gotta go away to come back.
If someone asks you to keep a secret, their secret is a lie.
The guy who I think really deserves it is Joel Mchale, depending on if or when Community is canceled. He's worked for Comcast (NBC's parent) for years now
Anyway, I think it's kind of a crazy idea, not that I'm opposed, just that if NBC just recently (3 years ago) got out of a messy late night shuffle, I'm not really sure why you would be eager to do another shuffle again. If they went through the trouble of re-instating Leno, at least keep him in the slot for a while, before making another crazy move. Conan also became a very well-known figure throughout his decade and a half of hosting Late Night, so more people knew who he was than Jimmy.
I also think it's crazy that NBC would force Jay out so early, even when he's leading in all the demographics, but then again this is NBC we're talking about. I think the move might be good news for ABC or CBS, as Leno's audience might flock to either Dave or more likely Kimmel, considering his similar brand of humor to Leno (he's really the closest thing on TV to Leno, despite calling him a "sellout" in interviews.) I really think in this situation, if NBC has a good thing, ratings wise, they should hang onto it, considering how few NBC shows get any kind of ratings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuNnp7HsP0s
I love him!!
NBC It HAS TO HAPPEN! Lets start a petition!!
WU is the best part of SNL and he's very witty I mean watch his solo interviews..
Plus no one is funny for an entire hour (unless we're talking about Dane Cook).. you have guests, props and music to help and an entire writing staff
I think he will be good at it with some help
Now for the 1235 spot. I don't think they are going to go with Seth Meyers. I think they are going to go with a woman. And the only one I see that would have an inclination to do it would likely be Chelsea Handler. Mostly because she is magic and can get anything on NBC, no matter how crappy it is. Or maybe another, what recent female cast off of SNL could pull it off.
For 1235 I don't think that a woman is in play, I don't think Chelsea Handler would leave her cushy job at E!, and female cast offs from SNL are actually doing good stuff on their own right now. I don't particularly like Seth Meyers, but he seems to be the pick as Lorne Michaels still holds executive control over Late Night (I believe).
i believe that the host makes the show , the show doesn't make the host
The Tonight Show was Johnny Carson's and his alone ..
jay leno took that show and made his own .. but that doesn't mean he owns it and its audience
what i want to get at is this
move fallon to 11:30
and jay to 12:30 and see what happens ..
because i can feel the smirk of NBC's CEO's shitty little faces when they announced this news
and i can predict that if fallon doesn't meet their expectation of what the show would be in the future he will also meet the fate of Conan O'Brien
either he get kicked out of the show like Conan , or get back again to 11:30 and replaced with another joker
Euw, Fallon.
Fallon has the potential to be a host I quite like. In a lot of ways, I think I'm quite similar to him -- which is probably why I don't like him, hehe. But uh, his monologues are horrible and boring. His interviews are boring too, especially because he kisses ass way too much and laughs at everything anybody says. But I can see him improving.
I can totally see Seth Meyers as the new Late Night host. He has the look and demeanor. He'll also likely attract the same crowd Fallon has, which I figure should be a positive, going on right after him. It kinda seems too obvious though.
No matter, though. Craig Ferguson and the Comedy Network duo are all that's needed.
The only thing funny on NBC's late night right now is watching them botch the job, watching Leno, who they should have let retire after the 10pm debacle, burn off loyalty and interest.
Have to disagree on Seth Meyers though. I think he's great. Clearly it was the Correspondents' Dinner roast that finally put him in contention for his own show, but I've enjoyed him as a Weekend Update host as well.
Whether you like or dislike Seth Meyers as a comedy writer, I think you have to see that his delivery on SNL weekend update has relied heavily on yelling it at the screen and making himself laugh over tightening up the material.
He should start his show with "I'm Seth Meyers, could I be any funnier?"
You can still see that old Jay Leno when he appears on "Real Time" because he and Bill Maher have known each other since both were standups and you get a different Jay when he is on with his friend. You get a little of it when Maher does "Tonight" but he still has all that network pressure to be their Jay.