Jump to content

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 75.47.155.106 (talk) at 07:30, 31 October 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night intertitle.
Created byJimmy Fallon
Written byA. D. Miles (head writer)
Presented byJimmy Fallon
StarringThe Roots
Narrated bySteve Higgins
Opening theme"Here I Come", The Roots
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes139 (as of October 30, 2009) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLorne Michaels
Michael Shoemaker
ProducerGavin Purcell
Production locationsStudio 6B in 30 Rockefeller Center
New York City
Running time62 min. (with commercials)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseMarch 2, 2009 –
present

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman.

The program airs weeknights at 12:35am Eastern/11:35pm Central in the United States.[1] Former host Conan O'Brien departed on February 20 to begin preparations for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Format

The show begins with the opening sequence as Steve Higgins announces that night's guests and "the legendary Roots crew". He then introduces Fallon, who then begins his nightly monologue. Fallon's monologue is usually short, followed by a brief comedy sketch, or alternatively, going over the night's guest and conversing with Higgins or members of The Roots.

After the show's first break, it returns and begins a comedy sketch. Mondays are usually reserved for the show's The Hills parody, 7th Floor West. Fridays are also reserved for Fallon to write thank you notes to figures that have given him material for the past week. He also typically has the entire crew of the show write letters home. Occasionally the show features extra skits such as "Wheel of Carpet Samples" or "Lick it for Ten".

After the sketch ends and a commercial break follows, the first guest will arrive. That guest will most often stay after the next break, and a second guest will enter after the show's fourth break. Once these interviews have been completed and the show has taken its fifth and final commercial break, the musical guest (or sometimes, a chef) will perform. Jimmy Fallon will return once the musical guest has finished and bid 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.

History

Executive producer Lorne Michaels said he wanted Fallon to be the new host dating back to the day that Fallon left Saturday Night Live in 2004,[2] which occurred only a few months before O'Brien's departure was announced.[3] According to Michaels:[2]

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.

During the years between Fallon's SNL departure and the announcement that he would take over Late Night, Fallon concentrated on developing a feature film career, which Fallon himself said "really didn't work out that great."[2]

Fallon was announced as O'Brien's replacement in May 2008; at the time of the announcement, he was scheduled to debut in June 2009.[4] To help him prepare for his new Late Night host role, Michaels had Fallon perform stand-up comedy in clubs and create a series of webisodes.[2] A behind-the-scenes vlog documenting preparations for the new show launched on December 8, 2008, with new episodes being posted weeknights at 12:30 a.m. ET.[citation needed]

Production

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.[5] Fallon's house band is hip-hop band The Roots,[5] and his announcer is Steve Higgins, a producer for Saturday Night Live.[6] The show is produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video in association with NBC's Universal Media Studios.

Fallon premiered on March 2, 2009, with Robert DeNiro, Justin Timberlake and Van Morrison appearing as his guests. Former Late Night host Conan O'Brien also made a cameo appearance.[7] Since then guests have included actress and good friend of Fallon Drew Barrymore, Fallon's former Saturday Night Live castmate Horatio Sanz, 30 Rock stars Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey, Watchmen stars Billy Crudup and Malin Akerman, comedian-actor Russell Brand, actress Cameron Diaz, actor Clive Owen, Mike Myers, R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe, Donald Trump and Diggnation hosts Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht also Lauren Graham, Regis Philbin, Tom Brokaw, and Triple H. Musical guests have included Hank Williams, Jr., The Ting Tings, Dave Matthews Band, Public Enemy, Ludacris, Vampire Weekend, Trace Adkins, Paul Simon, Christopher Cross and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Additionally, seminal D.C. hardcore band Jawbox will be coming out of retirement for a one-off performance only on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.[8]

Reception

Debut episode

The debut episode received mixed reviews and was considered to have "arrived needing plenty of work."[9] Critics noted that Jimmy Fallon was understandably nervous, but "remains nothing if not personable."[9] 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."[10] Critics 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."[11]

Ratings

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. Conan O' Brien's new show The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien attracted more viewers than Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[12] Fallon's total viewer count was 21% higher than Conan O'Brien's 1,991,000 Late Night average this season.[12] 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).[13]

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.[14] As of July 30, 2009, Ferguson leads Late Night in total viewers by a 25 percent margin, but still trails in demographics 18-49 by a 17 percent margin and 18-35 by a 42 percent margin.[citation needed]

International broadcasts

Country TV Network(s) Weekly Schedule (local time)
Australia The Comedy Channel Weeknights 12.00am[15]
Arab World Super Comedy Weeknights 10.00pm[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ About page from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon official website
  2. ^ a b c d "Ready or Not, Here Comes Jimmy Fallon To Update Late Night". Washington Post. March 1, 2009 [sic]. Retrieved 2009-02-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. ^ O'Brien to succeed Leno as 'Tonight' host in '09, a September 2004 article from The Hollywood Reporter
  4. ^ "Jimmy Fallon Headed to NBC Late Night". TVWeek.com. May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  5. ^ a b December 8, 2008 from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon video blog
  6. ^ December 11, 2008 from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon video blog
  7. ^ "Robert De Niro is Jimmy Fallon's first guest". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  8. ^ http://www.buzzgrinder.com/2009/jawbox-reuniting-on-fallon/
  9. ^ a b Debut episode review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Washington Post
  10. ^ March 3, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Chicago Tribune
  11. ^ March 3, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from Los Angeles Times
  12. ^ a b March 13, 2009 Review of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from The Huffington Post
  13. ^ "Late Night Ratings: Craig Ferguson Tops Jimmy Fallon - 2009-03-17 16:40:53 | Broadcasting & Cable". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "The Comedy Channel TV Schedule". The Comedy Channel Website. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  16. ^ "Super Comedy - Orbit Satellite Television & Radio network". Orbit Network Website. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Late_Night_with_Jimmy_Fallon&oldid=323066458"