RichC2

next to Colbert

RayChuang

I think what NBC is trying to do is essentially duplicate the earliest days of the stints of Steve Allen and Johnny Carson--who were both in their 30's when they started to host The Tonight Show (Jimmy Fallon is only 39). As such, NBC may given Fallon a lot more time to "grow" into The Tonight Show. I really hope that NBC allows Fallon to duplicate the "feel" of Steve Allen's stint on the show, though.

aktick

Ha, good call. Two smartest ones that showed up...oh yeah, can't forget about Bob.

bootsy

I know her ass did. Goodness gracious. I wanted her to turn around and start twerking or something

astrochimp

Cool couch performance from U2

aktick

I don't agree with you often, we're in lockstep on this one.

Rypro 525

Could be very well interesting to see if Seinfeld and Gaga interact during the show as he isn't a fan (well circa 2010) http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/m...ory?id=5316494

MikahC

I think advertisers (and thus network execs) can live without the older viewers. In fact, isn't that one of their primary reasons for replacing Leno? Either way, Fallon is the only host this older viewer actually enjoys watching, especially with some of the musical numbers he had on his old show. He especially has hit gold with many of his Justin Timberlake apperances (whether it's history of rap or JT performing songs form his CD's).

I plan to DVR.

Truffaut Fan

That set looked like it was about 1/2 the size of the Burbank set. It felt more like a spruced-up Late Night set than The Tonight Show. I think moving the show back to NY was a big step backwards. It no longer has the feel of the Mecca of the late night talk shows. I'm sure they'll be able to fly-in great guests for the few months or so, but it's going to be hard to keep that going with the small pool of celebrities that live on the East Coast. It'll also be interesting to see how the booking war shakes out now that there are two 11:35 shows in NY competing for the same Hollywood celebrities who fly out there to promote their latest film or TV series. I expect we'll see a lot of nights with guests like Donald Trump, Kelly Ripa, Tina Fey and Bob Costas. Kimmel is probably thrilled.

As for Fallon himself, I think he was the right choice. The guy is incredibly talented and funny and will appeal to younger viewers. I hope he succeeds, despite the limitations of being in NY.

PenguinJoe

The same was said about Leno though, they didn't feel he could connect with older viewers and Conan took like five years for the audience to warm up to him.

Truffaut Fan

Yes, that's one of them for sure.

- It's saving NBC about $30 million per year between the NYC tax incentives and the lower salary that Fallon is getting compared to Leno.

- NBC was reportedly worried about Jimmy Kimmel gaining viewership as Leno's ratings were skewing slightly older. Leno was still #1 in the 18-49 bracket, but the bulk of that audience was closer to 49 than 18.

- They also wanted to make the move before Letterman's contract is up at the end of 2015. There's a good chance that Letterman won't renew and that could have caused a bidding war for Fallon next year. They definitely didn't want a repeat of what happened 20 years ago. Also, this allows Fallon to be settled in with a loyal following before a new CBS 11:35 host takes over in 2016.

jeffkjoe

Talk shows fighting to book guests on the EAST COAST: Fallon, Meyers, Letterman

Talk shows fighting to book guests on the WEST COAST: Arsenio, Conan, Kimmel, Ferguson

Let the booking wars begin!!!

Truffaut Fan

I don't recall anyone saying that about Leno. He was guest-hosting The Tonight Show about 2 days a week during the early 90s and was often getting higher ratings than on the nights that Carson hosted.

Truffaut Fan

Seth Myers is the one who's going to suffer most from this. The one thing in his favor is that expectations are going to be low for a while, so hopefully he's not feeling a lot of pressure.

DRG

This is the first time that both NBC shows are based on the same city. You would have to think that Tonight Show will get precedence in booking guests.

mphtrilogy

Seth will get the D list..

mcnabb

Yes, Leno started guest hosting for Carson in 1987, and that was a big reason why NBC went with him over Letterman. They felt he was a more safe pick then Letterman.

To this day, I thought Letterman should have gotten the Tonight Show after Carson as he was much funnier then Leno. Now something happened to Letterman in the past 10-15 years where he has just gotten angrier, more political, and less funny as I rarely watch him these days. But if anyone remembers back in the late 80's, Lettermans 12:30 show was in many ways just as great as Carson's 11:30 show.

Now late night shows are so formulaic and frankly pretty bland, as none of the hosts really wow me, and the only time I tune them in is if they have an A-List guest I am interested in seeing.

jeffkjoe

The question is:

Jimmy Fallon used to book the SNL weekly hosts on his old talk show.

So now that both Fallon and Meyers have their own shows, who gets first dibs on booking the SNL hosts? Meyers? Because his show is on the same floor as SNL?

philo

I agree McNabb. Letterman has never been as funny as the NBC sneaker wearing days and no one has come close to the greatness of his Late Night show.

The sheer unpredictability and willingness to try new things from rotating the screen 360° over the course of a show to doing the show from the back of a truck to Dave popping up and commenting on his own rerun during Thanksgiving. The Chris Elliot guy under the stairs, Regulator Guy, steamroller, throwing objects off a rooftop, Dave's random phone calls or talking to people on the street, it was exciting, funny as hell stuff that I'd tape on my parents VCR and watch when I came home from school. His show changed for the worse when he went to CBS.

madcougar

I watched Late Night with David Letterman from 1982 until he left in 93 or theres about (Suit of Suet, anyone?). Staying up as late as I had to in those pre-DVR days when Letterman was shown at 1 a.m. or later in the Houston market probably stunted my growth as these were my main teen years. I certainly haven't seen anyone as quick witted as Letterman. I watched the Late Show for about five years or so on a regular basis, but haven't watched much these last 15 or so. It's a different Letterman and a different show.

Actually haven't watched much late night at all. Blame the internet I guess.

Rypro 525

Seth's first week
Monday, Feb. 24: Guests Amy Poehler, Vice President Joe Biden and musical guest A Great Big World.
Tuesday, Feb. 25: Guests Kanye West and author Robyn Doolittle (Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story).
Wednesday, Feb. 26: Guests Kelly Ripa, Brad Paisley and musical guest Brad Paisley.
Thursday, Feb. 27: Guests Lena Dunham, Anthony Mackie and musical guest John Mayer Trio.
Friday, Feb. 28: Guests Ian McKellen & Patrick Stewart, Sophia Bush and comedian Michael Che.

I wonder if the author on tuesday will get bumped so Kanye can talk as long as he wants?

Coladar1

I'll spare a threadcrap after watching this, aside from saying "I don't get it" and it "ain't for me." The line of stars was cool, but it was... a line of stars. The funniest thing was Colbert appearing on a now-competitor, which... isn't good. Not when the most humorous thing was somebody else, hosting another show on at the same time. For me, the pilot episode, something you've spent years preparing for, and your comedy sketch/segment is doing dances with your guest? I never watched Leno, so maybe I just really don't get this whole thing.

That being said, my reason for posting actually isn't negative - that U2 performance. Holy ****. Maybe I need to get out more, but those were some of the most breathtakingly beautiful, fantastic, amazing, almost divine-inspiring images I've ever seen. All of NYC in the background, at sunset, the sky a beautiful shade of red and orange, hundreds of feet above the greatest city on the planet with a red, white and blue lit Empire State Building center stage? **** me was that ever perfect.

So... I'm curious, was that a one-off thing? Because, like, they should be taken out back and shot if they've got that to use and... don't. I'd record every freaking episode just to watch a song performed against that backdrop. If they have that, then stick to having guests performed in a cramped studio, epic fail. They've just got to exploit that regularly, right...?

Why So Blu?

The Roots are Fallon's houseband.

*drops mic

/thread

Goat3001

It won't be an everyday thing. Maybe a once in awhile thing. They won't shut down Top of the Rock every evening for a small concert.

I liked it. It really was no different than his late night show which I really enjoyed too. Fallon won't keep me in stitches but he's entertaining and has a lot of fun bits.

Coladar1

You just know Ferguson has got to be ready to send NBC a fortune for setting things up for him this way. Let's be blunt, Conan and Arsenio both are z-list by and large for attracting the "huge names." Just reality of their network and ratings and so on.

So that means, if you've got some A-lister who wants to promote their project and not fly across the country, Kimmel is basically God. Early timeslot, big name host, decent ratings, etc. But Kimmel never had trouble drawing stars before.

Ferguson, though? Somehow, this obscure, low-budget, basement dwelling gay robot skeleton announcing show just became the second choice. In other words, it went from it's usual guests to likely booking many folks who would've otherwise been on Leno.

I don't think there's any question we'll see a huge ripple effect in the names Ferguson draws as his guests in months to come. Admittedly, daytime talkers like Ellen, The Talk, View, yadda yadda change the game, offering extra LA outlets... But this was a win for Ferguson before the battle even begins. Add into that Tonight and Late Show diluting the available guests for Meyers? I mean, there are just so many big names in NYC - figure six celebrities and three musicians a night, five nights a week.

Not at the start, but in a month or so? Meyers is going to suffer big time. It'll either be Zzz-list names, or people who everyone just saw the same questions asked of two nights before on Letterman and Fallon. Add into that the fact Meyers is untested, never having hosted anything like this before, and the well-known fact hosts like this usually suck hard the first year or two until they settle in and find their voice and style? A. I'd hate to be Meyers. B. I'd love to be Craig Ferguson.

Anything that gets more people to watch and recognize what a crazy Scotsman has established with his bizarre talk show is an amazing thing, but one does have to wonder what NBC is thinking as far as the drought in NYC celebrity guests past the first few weeks honeymoon effect.