This time around, the rumor mill has churned out the truth. After weeks of speculation, NBC has confirmed its plans to transition from one era of late night television to the next: in February of 2014, Jimmy Fallon will replace Jay Leno on ‘The Tonight Show,’ the number-one rated late night talk show since the days of Johnny Carson, who became host in 1962.
Leno has hosted the talk show since 1992, except for a brief intermission when Conan O’Brien took over in 2010. That time, Leno was abruptly ousted, just to return nine weeks later, and O’Brien switched networks from NBC to TBS. NBC wiped this portion of ‘Tonight’ history out of its press release, listing Leno as the only host since he took over for Carson. Unlike the tension that surrounded that business maneuver, this decision was made in positive spirits: Leno was involved in the transparent process, and in an interview with the New York Times, said that he did not have prior intentions to renew his contract, which was set to expire in September of 2014.
Fallon, who currently hosts ‘Late Night’ on NBC, will be highly promoted as the new host of ‘Tonight’ during NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia before making the switch in February. This start date will avoid the competitive summer season, and give Leno an appropriate send-off. Leno is confident that the talk show is safe with Fallon, telling Bill Carter of the New York Times: “‘The Tonight Show’ was No. 1 when I got it, I’ve kept it at No. 1 for about 90 percent of my term here, and I would like to see Jimmy keep it at No. 1, which I’m sure he will.”
‘The Tonight Show’ will also see a change in address: after spending forty years in California (in both Burbank and Hollywood), the show will move back to its hometown of New York City, to a studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. New York City is also Fallon’s home, and NBC late-night ringleader Lorne Michaels told the Times that “Jimmy is a New York guy, and the idea of having a show that is in the city Jimmy has always lived in and has Jimmy’s sensibility made sense.”
As for the hosting gig at ‘Late Night’ left open in Fallon’s absence, it’s been rumored that fellow ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast member Seth Meyers is up for the spot, but that information has yet to be confirmed.
