Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

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Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
LateNightwithJimmyFallon.jpg
Format Talk show
Variety show
Created by Jimmy Fallon
Written by A. D. Miles (head writer)
Presented by Jimmy Fallon
Starring The Roots (house band)
Narrated by Steve Higgins
Opening theme "Here I Come", The Roots
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 838 (as of May 17, 2013)[1] (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Lorne Michaels
Michael Shoemaker
Producer(s) Gavin Purcell
Location(s) NBC Studios
New York, New York
Running time 60 minutes (with commercials)
Production company(s) Broadway Video
Universal Television
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original run March 2, 2009 – December 9, 2013
Chronology
Preceded by Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(1993–2009)
External links
Website

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show airing weeknights at 12:35 am Eastern/11:35 pm Central on NBC in the United States.[2] The hour-long show premiered on March 2, 2009, and is hosted by actor, comedian and performer Jimmy Fallon. Hip hop/neo soul band The Roots serve as the show's house band, and Steve Higgins is the show's announcer.

The third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman, the program originates from NBC Studio 6B in the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. The show typically opens with a brief monologue from Fallon, followed by a comedy "desk piece," as well as prerecorded segments and audience competitions. The next segment is devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to media personalities and political figures. The show then closes with either a musical or comedy performance. The show frequently employs digital media into its comedy, which has become crucial to its success. Fallon has been appointed to become the next host of The Tonight Show, where he will succeed the current host Jay Leno at the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics, with fellow SNL alum Seth Meyers slated to replace Fallon.[3]

The show's ratings have remained above its rival shows throughout most of the series' run. In 2011, the show garnered two Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

Contents

Format [edit]

The show begins with the opening sequence as Steve Higgins announces that night’s guests and “the legendary Roots crew”. Just before Higgins introduces Fallon, the camera cuts to a shot of The Roots, who then shout three numbers symbolizing the episode number of Late Night (though other numbers and statements have been shouted in place based on current events, cities if that episode's number matches a particular city's area codes, and historical show moments). As the camera pans over to the main stage, some members of the Roots perform actions to get the camera's attention (F. Knuckles salutes, Captain Kirk Douglas does a windmill chord, and Damon Bryson smiles while flashing a peace sign). Higgins then introduces Fallon, who begins his brief monologue. Fallon often gives the cue cards for a joke to audience members if the joke falls particularly flat. After each monologue Jimmy says "We got a great show for you tonight. Give it up for The Roots".

After the monologue, Fallon typically performs a comedy "desk piece." Some are weekly: "Pros and Cons" on Tuesdays, and "Late Night Hashtags" on Thursdays. Fridays are also reserved for Fallon to write "Thank You" notes to figures that have given him material for the past week. The popularity of these "Thank You" notes has led to the release of two books full of the favorites. He also sometimes has the entire crew of the show write letters home.

After the desk piece ends and a commercial break follows, typically there is a competition involving players selected from the studio audience. These have included "Wheel of Carpet Samples," "Wax on Wax off," "Cell Phone Shootout," "Models and Buckets," "Lick it for Ten," "Let Us Play with Your Look," "Put It In Reverse," and "Hot Dog in a Hole." Occasionally the segment features a group-performance competition, "Battle of the Instant Bands" or "Battle of the Instant Dance Crews."

In the show's third segment, the first guest arrives. That guest usually stays after the next break, then either plays a game with Jimmy and some audience members, or does a skit with Jimmy. Next, a second guest enters after the show's third break. Once these interviews have been completed and the show has taken its final commercial break, the musical guest (or sometimes, a chef or comedian) performs. Once the musical guest has finished, Fallon bids the viewers farewell. As credits roll, Fallon runs up and down the stairs of the studio giving high fives to the audience before exiting backstage.

Show set in January 2011

History [edit]

The origins of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon were laid in 2004, when NBC announced that Late Night host Conan O'Brien would replace Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show in 2009. Fallon, at the time, had just left Saturday Night Live in favor of a movie career. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels was the first to suggest to the comedian that he'd be perfect to fill O'Brien's empty seat. Michaels said he wanted Fallon to be the new host dating back to the day that Fallon left Saturday Night Live,[4] which occurred only a few months before O'Brien's departure was announced.[5] Michaels, a staunch advocate of Fallon, urged NBC to give Fallon a holding deal in February 2007 so that he couldn't be lured elsewhere.[6]

According to Michaels:[4]

“ Jimmy's built for this kind of show. He's funny, he's charming, he's got a really good way of connecting with people. And he knows music, movies and TV really well, which is the backbone of these shows. ”

Regardless, Fallon wasn't officially approached by NBC until early 2008. Fallon's movie career, self-admittedly "hadn't worked out that great,"[4] and NBC contacted him to become O'Brien's replacement. The network had a couple of other candidates in mind to replace Conan, but Michaels insisted he’d only produce the show with Fallon as host. So in May 2008, NBC announced that Fallon would be O'Brien's replacement, "an announcement that was met with some bewilderment, even snickers," recalled New York.[7] At the time of the announcement, he was scheduled to debut in June 2009.[8] Michaels soon tasked Fallon with "training" for the gig by returning to his stand-up roots; for eight months, Fallon toured college campuses and comedy clubs, where he tested out a new, 50-minute routine.[9] In addition, Michaels and Fallon assembled a "well-pedigreed" team for Late Night, including Steve Higgins, longtime SNL producer Michael Shoemaker as showrunner, and celebrated hip-hop group The Roots as the house band.[6] Before the show debuted, Conan O'Brien sent a plastic pickle to Fallon's office, accompanied by a handwritten note reflecting the ritual: "The Letterman people sent this pickle to my office in 1993. Now I’m passing it on to you. Whenever you leave, which won’t be for a long time, make sure you pass it on to the next sap."[10] In an early sketch about recording promos for the show’s debut, Fallon’s announcer, Steve Higgins, joked: "You loved him on SNL. You hated him in the movies. Now, you’re ambivalent," reflecting the negative public opinion of the show prior to premiering.[7]

The show's position and time slot briefly came under question during the 2010 Tonight Show conflict. Fallon announced that the show would be bumped to a 1:05 am start time, with the move of The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 pm and subsequent bump of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien to 12:05 am start.[11] This proved to be false, as O'Brien refused the change, citing a reluctance to infringe upon Late Night, and saying it would be "unfair to Jimmy." [12] Fallon is now next in line to succeed Leno, set to begin his reign on The Tonight Show in February, 2014.

Saturday Night Live cast member and "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Myers has been anounced as Fallon's replacement on "Late Night."

Debut episode [edit]

The show premiered on March 2, 2009 with Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, Nick Carter and Van Morrison appearing as Fallon's first guests. Former Late Night host Conan O'Brien also made a cameo appearance in the beginning. The Hollywood Reporter described the episode: "Fallon opened with a fairly traditional monologue that drew few laughs, followed by a couple of prepared bits that were long on ambition but failed to connect."[13] Bits introduced during the show's debut night were "Slow Jam the News" and "Lick it for Ten." The Los Angeles Times, in retrospect, referred to it as "an uneven beginning," recalling: "Fallon booked one of the world's worst interview subjects, Robert DeNiro, as his first guest, and the acknowledged irony — DeNiro was asked questions he could answer in a single word — did not make the interview any better, or funny."[14] Timberlake was Fallon's second guest, offering "ebullient in doing dead-on impressions of John Mayer and Michael McDonald," and Van Morrison was the show's first musical guest. Fallon acknowledged possible roughness, saying the intimacy of late-night shows demands early modulating: "We’re going to find our style. I know I'm gonna get reviewed off the first show, as opposed to the first couple of months."[10][15]

Sexual discrimination accusation [edit]

On July 28, 2010, former stage manager Paul Tarascio accused Jimmy Fallon and the producers of Late Night of sexually discriminating against him. Tarascio alleged he was demoted and then lost his job to what he describes as a "less qualified"[16] woman because, "Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman."[17] Following the demotion, Tarascio continued to protest the change, including complaints directed to his union representative, and was subsequently fired based on a list of job failures provided by NBC.[16] An NBC spokeswoman said that claims of sexual discrimination were "without merit".[16]

Production [edit]

A ticket to the show on September 14, 2011.

The program originates from NBC Studio 6B in the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, the original home of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which was not the studio from which Late Night had been broadcast since 1982, but which had housed the WNBC news studios since Carson had moved his show to Burbank, California, in 1972.[18] Fallon's house band is hip hop/neo soul band The Roots,[18] and his announcer is Steve Higgins, a producer for Saturday Night Live.[19] The show is produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video in association with NBC's Universal Media Studios.

Tapings begin at 5:30pm for same-day broadcast; audiences arrive as much as 90 minutes in advance, which allows for warm-up by a staff member ("try to find everything funnier than normal"); in between guests, Fallon does custom promotional clips for the NBC affiliates.[20]

Online presence [edit]

“ We're not trying to ignore the fact that people are in front of a computer at work and surf the Web all day long, or that kids check the Internet when they get home from school. We want to exploit that, and have fun with it. I'm on Facebook and I've been on Twitter just talking to my fans. It's amazing! ”

—Jimmy Fallon, prior to the show premiering in 2009[15]

The incorporation of the Internet unlike other talk shows was decided long before the show began. Highlighting interactivity, Fallon dived into the Web prior to the show premiering, creating a Twitter and beginning a vlog on the show's official website, which ran snippets of comedy bits and background reports on how he was building the show.[10] The show's Web site is staffed by three full-time bloggers, who compile viral videos and post photos. Questlove tweets during tapings of the show. "I think a lot of shows don't use the Internet as well as they could," said Fallon in 2009.[9] "The Internet has been awesome," he added. "They’ve got my back."[10]

Online interaction and its presence on the show soon became crucial to its success. Fallon devotes considerable time and resources to incorporating digital ideas into his comedy — "he sits at his desk behind a Mac, not a microphone" — focusing especially on social media, which connects the younger audience.[21]

Music [edit]

Music has become a signature part of the humor of Late Night of Jimmy Fallon. Fallon employs impressions of celebrities and uses song parodies that rest in "borderline-surreal pop cultural juxtapositions," such as Fallon impersonating Neil Young singing the theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[22] Many of the sketches have gone viral; the first among these was Brian Williams' appearance for "Slow Jam the News," a bit where Fallon and The Roots turn news stories into a "sexy R&B song."[23] Some of Late Night's most famous musical moments include Paul McCartney joining Fallon to sing "Scrambled Eggs" – the working title of "Yesterday" – using the original whimsical filler lyrics, as well as President Barack Obama's appearance to "Slow Jam the News."[22] An article in The Huffington Post credited music as crucial to the show's success: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon almost instantly became a fun, must-watch talk show largely because Jimmy fully embraced the musical opportunities afforded to him."[24] In 2012, the musical pieces were compiled together as a primetime NBC special, aptly titled Jimmy Fallon's Primetime Music Special, and remastered for the album Blow Your Pants Off.[22]

Reception [edit]

Critical reviews [edit]

The debut episode received mixed to negative reviews across the board and was considered to have "arrived needing plenty of work".[25] In particular, critics noted Jimmy Fallon's nervousness and profuse sweating as well as awkward comedy pieces like "Lick It for 10".[25] However, interaction with the show's house band, The Roots, was applauded and it was noted that "a bit in which Fallon sang a "slow jam" version of the news succeeded, in large part, thanks to Roots' typically taut playing and singer Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter's impeccable voice and surprisingly good comic timing".[26] The LA Times commented that "the late-night role seems on the face of it a good fit" for Jimmy Fallon and that "this is a form that develops in the fullness of time, as chances are taken and limits tested and you learn the things you can learn only in the doing, night after night".[27] The first season as whole so far scored a 48/100 on Metacritic, and viewers scoring it at a 5/10.[28]

Some reviews have since over time grown more positive. In 2010, New York complimented Fallon's "good humor" and noted his improvement: "In the relative safety of his 12:35 a.m. time slot, Fallon has been cultivating a distinct, and refreshing, strain of humor: the comedy of unabashed celebration."[7] The same year, a Los Angeles Times piece titled "Jimmy Fallon, you're growing on us" compliments his excitement and charm: "Whatever tentativeness Fallon showed has long dissipated, and what he lacks in penetrating insight, [...] he makes up in enthusiasm."[14] In 2012, the New York Times called Fallon "one of the hot acts in late night with younger viewers," attributing the show's success to the show's "original comedy ideas" and Fallon's own performance.[29]

Ratings [edit]

Despite cautious reviews, the show was a ratings favorite during its premiere week. The show outperformed its main competitor, CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, by half a million viewers. Fallon also managed a higher viewer total than his predecessor, Conan O'Brien. Fallon's total viewer count was 21% higher than Conan O'Brien's 1,991,000 Late Night average this season,[30] although it is disingenuous to draw such a comparison as new shows open to highly inflated viewership. Fallon maintained his lead over Ferguson until the night of March 16 when The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson attracted a larger audience (1.47 vs. 1.27 million viewers).[31]

For the week July 27-July 31, 2009, Late Night was the ratings leader with a 17 percent lead in adults 18-49 and a 42 percent lead with adults 18-34. Since the show aired on March 2, Fallon has ranked number one or tied Ferguson in these demographics on 97/100 nights.[32]

After Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show, in total viewers Late Night (2.0 million viewers overall) out-delivered Late Late Show (1.7 million) by a margin of 17 percent the entire first week.[33]

In the May 2010 sweeps, Late Night has a higher rating, a roughly equal share, but fewer average viewers, than The Late Late Show. The two are tied in the demographic of adults age 18 to 49, with Late Night having a slightly higher share.[34]

In the May 2011 sweeps, all of NBC's late night programming reported increased viewership. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon reported a 13% increase in viewership compared to the previous year.[35] Late Night, though, managed to beat The Late Late Show by a very small margin.[36]

International [edit]

  • Late Night originally aired in Australia on The Comedy Channel along with The Tonight Show, however both were dropped following Leno's reinstatement citing a decline in viewership. In November 2010 after a few months of being off the air, The Comedy Channel's Group Programming Director Darren Chau announced that Late Night would resume airing from December 7, this time without accompanying The Tonight Show. For the relaunch, the Comedy Channel was re-branded as the Jimmy Channel for one day with Jimmy Fallon hosting the entire evening line-up counting down to the return of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[37] The Comedy Channel's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon promotional campaign won Gold at the 2011 world Promax Awards in New York, and Silver at the 2011 Australian Promax Awards.[38]
  • In the Middle East, Late Night airs on OSN Comedy Channel, part of the Orbit Showtime Network.
  • In Finland, the show was aired on a channel called TV Viisi (TV Five).
  • In Portugal, the show was aired on SIC Radical, but was dropped when rights to broadcast Conan were secured.
  • In Canada, the show currently airs on CTV Two at the same time as the U.S NBC. The show is also rerun the next day at 10:00pm on MuchMore.
  • In Thailand, the shows run back-to-back on CNBC at the weekend.
  • In Turkey, the show airs on Bloomberg HT every night.
  • In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the show airs with new episodes a day after their initial airing in the US on CNBC.

Since late February 2012, Late Night now airs across Europe on CNBC Europe, replacing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which occupied the slot for many years. The show airs in a 30-minute condensed version Mondays-Fridays at 00.00 CET. On Saturdays and Sundays two episodes airs per night from 21.00 CET in the full 45-minute version. The episodes air on a one day delay from transmission in the USA. http://www.cnbc.com/id/46189136

Awards and nominations [edit]

Year Award Category Result
2011 Emmy Award Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series Nominated[21][39]
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media

See also [edit]

Portal icon Comedy portal

References [edit]

  1. ^ The Official Show Calendar
  2. ^ About page from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon official website
  3. ^ Carter, Bill (2013-05-12). "Seth Meyers to Succeed Fallon on NBC's Late Night". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2013-05-12. 
  4. ^ a b c Farhi, Paul (March 1, 2009 [sic]). "Ready or Not, Here Comes Jimmy Fallon To Update Late Night". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-02-28. 
  5. ^ O'Brien to succeed Leno as 'Tonight' host in '09, a September 2004 article from The Hollywood Reporter
  6. ^ a b Tim Stack (March 2, 2009). "Jimmy Fallon: The New King of Late Night". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  7. ^ a b c Adam Sternbergh (November 7, 2010). "Mr. Sunshine". New York. Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  8. ^ "Jimmy Fallon Headed to NBC Late Night". TVWeek.com. May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-28. 
  9. ^ a b Pang, Kevin (March 2, 2009). "Jimmy Fallon: Host for a Twittering society". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-06-16. 
  10. ^ a b c d Carter, Bill (February 27, 2009). "Nervous but Excited, Jimmy Fallon Enters the Late-Night Fray". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-16. 
  11. ^ Gawker Media blog post: "Conan O'Brien Slams NBC, Mocks Jay Leno on The Tonight Show"
  12. ^ New York Times article: "Conan O’Brien Says He Won’t Host ‘Tonight Show’ After Leno".
  13. ^ Ray Richmond (March 2, 2009). "Jimmy Fallon Off to An Uneven Start, As Expected". Reuters (originally from The Hollywood Reporter). Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  14. ^ a b Robert Lloyd (November 28, 2010). "Jimmy Fallon, you're growing on us". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  15. ^ a b Moore, Frazier (February 25, 2009). "Jimmy Fallon: I'm No Conan & That's OK". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-06-16. 
  16. ^ a b c Gardner, Eriq (2010-07-29). "Jimmy Fallon show hit with sex discrimination claim". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
  17. ^ Hyman, Vicki (July 28, 2010). "Jimmy Fallon accused of sexual discrimination by former stage manager". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
  18. ^ a b December 8, 2008 from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon video blog
  19. ^ December 11, 2008 from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon video blog
  20. ^ Goodhue, Karin (June 3, 2010). "Live in the Audience with Jimmy Fallon". Blog. WITN-TV. Retrieved 2013-01-30. 
  21. ^ a b Carter, Bill (September 9, 2011). "No More Desk Potatoes?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-16. 
  22. ^ a b c Hester, Jere (July 25, 2012). "Jimmy Fallon Sings His Pants Off". WMAQ-TV. Retrieved 2012-07-25. 
  23. ^ Anderson, Kyle (June 12, 2012). "Jimmy Fallon's 'Blow Your Pants Off': He tells EW about the stories -- and the stars -- behind the songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-07-25. 
  24. ^ Luippold, Ross (June 13, 2012). "Everything You Should Know About Jimmy Fallon's "Blow Your Pants Off"". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-07-25. 
  25. ^ a b Debut episode review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Washington Post
  26. ^ March 3, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Chicago Tribune
  27. ^ March 3, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from Los Angeles Times
  28. ^ Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: Season 1 Metacritic.
  29. ^ Bill Carter (April 20, 2012). "Obama to Appear on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2012. 
  30. ^ March 13, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Huffington Post
  31. ^ "Late Night Ratings: Craig Ferguson Tops Jimmy Fallon - 2009-03-17 16:40:53 | Broadcasting & Cable". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
  32. ^ "Conan O’Brien Wins The July 20–24 Week In 18-49 Over All Cable And Broadcast Competition - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. 2009-07-30. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
  33. ^ NBC’s late night team: ‘Leno’ and “Fallon’ defeated all for week March 1-5
  34. ^ ‘The Tonight Show With Jay Leno’ & ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ Deliver May Sweep Wins Over all Cable And Broadcast Competition. NBC press release (2010-06-04) via tvbythenumbers.com. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  35. ^ JAY LENO AND JIMMY FALLON FINISH #1 VS. ABC AND CBS COMPETITION IN THE MAY 2011 SWEEP NBCUniversal. June 3, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  36. ^ Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon Finish #1 vs. ABC and CBS Competition in the May 2011 Sweep The Futon Critic. June 3, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  37. ^ [1]
  38. ^ [2]
  39. ^ "Press Release Nominations 2011 Emmys". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-07-15. 

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