Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

[tpfkabi]

how mark paul never laughs or breaks character is pretty incredible.
i couldn't do it, but then again, i'm not an actor.

[RegularKarate]

seriously. he just sits there and tries to disprove the gag repeatedly. wtf.

Well, he's playing the straight-man.  He sees these bits as sketches (and they are more like straight-forward sketch than most talk-show segments), but he's not a good actor so his participation just seems awkward.

[picolas]

i know it's a pre-written sketch and he's playing the straight man, but the straight man can be hilarious too. this is as one-note as a straight man can be.

[Stefen]

Yeah, that Zack Morris thing was awesome.

[diggler]

wow mark paul hasn't aged a BIT. he owned that segment though, anybody could've been hosting and it would've been exactly the same. i can't believe anyone ever thought fallon was a good idea. the man has no personality. this is the problem with a former SNL person hosting a talk show, because often times that person is more comfortable occupying a character than being funny as themselves. i wanna say give him time, but the man spent YEARS on live television and never looked comfortable in his own skin.

[MacGuffin]

Jimmy Fallon to Take Over THE TONIGHT SHOW in 2014?
Source: Collider

It appears that Jimmy Fallon may be making the move to NBC's The Tonight Show sooner rather than later.  A new report from the New York Times claims that Fallon has received an offer to take over from Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show by no later than 2014.  Moreover, the show will be moving from Los Angeles back to New York City.  Fallon has excelled as the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon since the show's debut in 2009, and NBC appears to be very pleased with his performance thus far.  There appears to be a bit of resistance to making the move to the Tonight Show so soon though, specifically from Late Night producer Lorne Michaels.

Though the New York Times has Fallon mulling over an offer to take over The Tonight Show next year, THR's sources add quite a bit more to the story.  Apparently some executives at NBC are keen on launching Fallon's Tonight Show in February 2014 in order to take advantage of the ratings spike from the 2014 Winter Olympics, but others at the company—including SNL and Late Night producer Lorne Michaels—aren't thrilled with the idea of rushing the transition.

An official announcement that Fallon will be taking over The Tonight Show is expected at NBC's upfront presentation this May, but the network has reportedly already begun work on a new studio at 30 Rock in New York that would be the new home of The Tonight Show.  NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt is said to be none too pleased with Leno's recent jabs at the network on his show, and replacing him with Fallon sooner rather than later would prevent Leno from moving to a rival network before his contract expires in September of 2014.

As for Late Night, NBC executives are said to be actively looking for Fallon's replacement.  One possibility that I would personally be thrilled with is SNL alum/current head writer Seth Meyers.  The move would certainly make sense given that Michaels produces both Late Night and SNL, and Meyers has plenty of experience behind a desk as the host of Weekend Update.

Whatever the case, expect to hear more details as May approaches.  What appears to be certain, though, is that Jimmy Fallon will be the next host of The Tonight Show.

[MacGuffin]

Official: Jimmy Fallon to replace Jay Leno
Source: EW

It's official: NBC announced today that Jimmy Fallon will succeed Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.

Leno will wrap up 22 years of hosting the franchise in Spring 2014, which marks the end of his current contract. Fallon, who currently reigns at 12:30 a.m. with his Late Night, will take over at that time. Had NBC made the decision to install Fallon earlier — like, say, around the Winter Olympics — it would have had to pay out millions in penalty fees to Leno.

As previously reported, The Tonight Show will return to its original home in 30 Rock in New York and will be executive-produced by Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock). He replaces longtime EP Debbie Vickers.

It's unclear who will take over Late Night, Fallon's current show. An announcement is expected soon.

"Congratulations Jimmy," Leno said in a statement. "I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage." Added Fallon in a statement, "I'm really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow."

"Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years," said Steve Burke, Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal. "His long reign as the highest-rated late-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC. We are purposefully making this change when Jay is #1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was #1.  Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time.  I'm thrilled he will become the sixth host of 'The Tonight Show' at exactly the right moment, in conjunction with our coverage of next year's Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia.

NBC added in its announcement today that The Tonight Show has ranked No. 1 — ahead of its ABC and CBS — in 18-49 viewers and total viewers for each season since Leno's return in March 2010 and for the 14 seasons before his departure in May 2009.  During the current season, Tonight is consistently No. 1 versus his rivals, averaging a 0.8 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 3.5 million viewers.

Fallon's Late Night has ranked No. 1 in 18-49 versus the time period's ABC and CBS competition each season since debuting in March of 2009.

On Monday, the two late-night hosts seemed to indicate there was no bad blood between them by performing a "duet" that mocked the ongoing speculation about who's going and who's leaving.

[Pubrick]

no mention of conan at all.

like that whole thing never happened.

it made me stop watching late nite tv, all that bullshit.

that and the insufferable andy richter.

[©brad]

Agree. And not to get all cbrad on everyone but all these old white guys are boring. I hear Seth Meyers is the likely candidate for Jimmy's replacement. Of course they won't ever consider a non-white male or even ::gasp:: a woman.

[Reel]

I'm most excited for Pete Holmes' late night show after Conan. Love that guy, he's one of us ( diehard PTA fan ) and I think he'll be a great host! His podcast You Made It Weird is definitely a new favorite.

[MacGuffin]

Alec Baldwin Reportedly in Talks to Take Over NBC's LAST CALL
Source: Collider

It appears that the late night drama at NBC is far from over.  While the network recently announced that Jimmy Fallon would be replacing Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in early 2014, with Seth Meyers in talks to step in as the new host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the network is now eyeing a changeup at its other late night show: Last Call with Carson Daly.  You'd be forgiven for forgetting that Last Call still exists, but the very late night half-hour show has been running for a total of 12 seasons with former MTV host Carson Daly at the helm.  Now it appears that Daly might be out, with 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin in discussions to take over as host of his own late night talk show.

The folks over at The New York Times—who were first to report the Fallon/Tonight Show switch—report that Alec Baldwin is in the early stages of negotiations to join NBC's late night lineup.  The most likely place for a Baldwin-hosted show is apparently the 1:35am slot currently populated by Last Call with Carson Daly, but it's unclear if Baldwin would be at the helm of an entirely new show or if he'd simply take over Last Call and make some changes to the format. The report notes that Baldwin would be able to film multiple episodes at a time, allowing him to continue his work in film.

Baldwin has a rather swell relationship with the Peacock as he starred on 30 Rock for its seven-season run (winning two Emmys in the process) and is a frequent host of Saturday Night Live.  Daly currently serves as host of NBC's The Voice so it's not like he'd be entirely getting the shaft, but should Baldwin nab his own show it would mark a complete overhaul of NBC's late night programming.  We should hear more in the coming weeks, but what do you think about Baldwin hosting his own late night show?