Thursday, March 28, 2024

Jimmy Fallon Gets the Tonight Show, NBC Release Skips Over Conan O’Brien Era

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NBC anointed Jimmy Fallon as host of the “Tonight” today, replacing Jay Leno even though he’s number 1 in the time slot. The change came two weeks after NBC declared war on Leno, and Leno fired back in daily monologues. On Monday, the network released a video of Fallon and Leno singing “Tonight” to each other from “West Side Story.”

Clearly, weekend negotiations had brought the whole mess to a conclusion. Leno isn’t even waiting until the end of his contract in September 2014. In February, before the Winter Olympics air on NBC, Leno will bow out. When the Olympics are over, Fallon will appear at 11:35pm live from New York, not Hollywood.

This afternoon everyone is quoting from a cheery press release of harmony. Interestingly, NBC completely skips over the eight months in which Conan O’Brien had the job. He been deleted, Soviet style, from the history of “Tonight.” So has Leno’s debacle of a show at 10pm, and the payout to O’Brien of around $50 million. O’Brien just renewed his own contract with TBS for his 11pm late night show, which is going strong.

Leno is making jokes now about returning to stand up comedy, or working in his garage. (He’s famously a car collector.) But don’t be fooled. Leno will be back on the air by September 2014, whether it’s with Fox or a cable channel, or in syndication. The latter choice may be more difficult since there are others who’ve gotten deals with local stations. But Jay Leno’s advisors will figure it out. He carries with him the largest late night audience.

And what of Fallon? I’ve always said he reminded me of Steve Allen and Jack Paar rolled into one. His show is sophisticated, fun, and young. Coming from New York, with Lorne Michaels producing, and with the “Saturday Night Live” synergy, the “Tonight” show with Jimmy Fallon is going to be a big success and a pleasure to watch. The one person who will find it a headache will be David Letterman. Competition for booking guests will be as intense as it is between “Today” and “Good Morning America.”

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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