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| Jimmy Fallon takes the Tonight Show baton: can he save late-night comedy? | Jimmy Fallon takes the Tonight Show baton: can he save late-night comedy? |
| (7 months later) | |
| Earlier this week, Jimmy Fallon, the newly crowned king of American late-night TV comedy, was asked by reporters at the Television Critics Association to describe his feelings about taking over the helm of the legendary Tonight Show. He recalled, twinkly-eyed, how as a kid he had begged his parents to let him watch the show under its then host Johnny Carson “because I knew it was on really late and I was getting away with something”. | Earlier this week, Jimmy Fallon, the newly crowned king of American late-night TV comedy, was asked by reporters at the Television Critics Association to describe his feelings about taking over the helm of the legendary Tonight Show. He recalled, twinkly-eyed, how as a kid he had begged his parents to let him watch the show under its then host Johnny Carson “because I knew it was on really late and I was getting away with something”. |
| When Fallon takes over the reigns from Jay Leno, who broadcasts his final Tonight Show after 22 years on Thursday night, he knows that much more is at stake than childhood nostalgia. He faces the supreme challenge of instilling in a new generation of young Americans that same mildly naughty desire to stay up late and watch him. | When Fallon takes over the reigns from Jay Leno, who broadcasts his final Tonight Show after 22 years on Thursday night, he knows that much more is at stake than childhood nostalgia. He faces the supreme challenge of instilling in a new generation of young Americans that same mildly naughty desire to stay up late and watch him. |
| There is a great deal riding on that, including nothing less than the sustainability of the late-night comedy genre that was pioneered by the Tonight Show in 1954 but is now a pale reflection of its former glory, battered by fierce competition from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show and the like as well as the chill blast of the internet. The financial wellbeing of NBC is also in play, with advertising revenue slumping almost to half its 2007 level by 2012 to below $150m. | |
| Then there’s the fate of the 39-year-old Fallon himself, who graduates from his current late-night slot to the Tonight Show on 17 February. Will he mature into the job to become another feature of the US cultural landscape, his face carved into the Mount Rushmore of late-night comedy alongside Carson, who hosted 4,531 episodes of the Tonight Show, and Leno, who has hosted 4,610 since 1992? | Then there’s the fate of the 39-year-old Fallon himself, who graduates from his current late-night slot to the Tonight Show on 17 February. Will he mature into the job to become another feature of the US cultural landscape, his face carved into the Mount Rushmore of late-night comedy alongside Carson, who hosted 4,531 episodes of the Tonight Show, and Leno, who has hosted 4,610 since 1992? |
| Or will he crash out like Conan O’Brien, whose catastrophic attempt to replace Leno came to a spectacular end in 2010 after just 146 episodes? | Or will he crash out like Conan O’Brien, whose catastrophic attempt to replace Leno came to a spectacular end in 2010 after just 146 episodes? |
| Bill Carter, author of The War for Late Night, and who reports on television for the New York Times, gives Fallon two or three years to prove himself. “He has to keep the Tonight Show in its number one slot. But he also has to be hip enough to get the critical reaction that NBC wants – Jay Leno had lost that entirely; he was denigrated by critics for being too mainstream.” | Bill Carter, author of The War for Late Night, and who reports on television for the New York Times, gives Fallon two or three years to prove himself. “He has to keep the Tonight Show in its number one slot. But he also has to be hip enough to get the critical reaction that NBC wants – Jay Leno had lost that entirely; he was denigrated by critics for being too mainstream.” |
| On one level, Fallon’s brand of comedy is quite conventional, as befits an alumnus of Saturday Night Live who quit in 2004 to mount a failed bid to break into Hollywood. He has largely dispensed with the irony bordering on sarcasm on which so much modern comedy depends, returning instead to a prelapsarian humour drawing on his good-natured style and taste in silly costumes. On the other hand, he is a master at divining what will go viral – a crucial skill in the age of TV recording devices and social media. | On one level, Fallon’s brand of comedy is quite conventional, as befits an alumnus of Saturday Night Live who quit in 2004 to mount a failed bid to break into Hollywood. He has largely dispensed with the irony bordering on sarcasm on which so much modern comedy depends, returning instead to a prelapsarian humour drawing on his good-natured style and taste in silly costumes. On the other hand, he is a master at divining what will go viral – a crucial skill in the age of TV recording devices and social media. |
| Take his recent lampoon of Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor under fire because of those traffic problems over the George Washington bridge. Fallon’s remake of Born To Run, in which he mimics Bruce Springsteen and is then joined on stage by the Boss himself, was not just sublime television, but had the benefit of attracting more than 4 million views on YouTube | Take his recent lampoon of Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor under fire because of those traffic problems over the George Washington bridge. Fallon’s remake of Born To Run, in which he mimics Bruce Springsteen and is then joined on stage by the Boss himself, was not just sublime television, but had the benefit of attracting more than 4 million views on YouTube |
| His riff on hashtags with Justin Timberlakehas been viewed more than 21m times on YouTube, and his lip sync battle with Stephen Merchant almost 11m times. Both were helped along the way by Fallon’s 11m Twitter followers. | |
| Eric Deggans, TV critic for National Public Radio, says that Fallon’s popularity on social media is not a fluke, as his strain of humour is in tune with the 18-35 demographic that all late-night TV producers are desperate to reach. “He has a comedy that mixes up cultures and musical sounds in a way that feels distinctly millennial,” Deggans says. | Eric Deggans, TV critic for National Public Radio, says that Fallon’s popularity on social media is not a fluke, as his strain of humour is in tune with the 18-35 demographic that all late-night TV producers are desperate to reach. “He has a comedy that mixes up cultures and musical sounds in a way that feels distinctly millennial,” Deggans says. |
| Instead of a bland confected studio band, Fallon is supported by the hip-hop band the Roots. Instead of a faintly sycophantic guest interview with Barack Obama, Fallon persuaded the president last April to “slow jam” the news to the Roots’s R&B backing, notching up another 8m views on YouTube . Instead of reciting a list of hit-or-miss jokes in the comfortable mould of his competitors, Fallon will perform a “history of rap” with Timberlake that is, depending on your taste, either strikingly accomplished or remarkably childish. Or both. | |
| The billion-dollar question is whether Fallon’s social media largesse will feed back into ratings. The latest ratings figures from Nielsen have the Tonight Show hosting enjoying an average nightly audience of about 3.8 million people – well down from the 6 million Leno used to attract a decade ago. | The billion-dollar question is whether Fallon’s social media largesse will feed back into ratings. The latest ratings figures from Nielsen have the Tonight Show hosting enjoying an average nightly audience of about 3.8 million people – well down from the 6 million Leno used to attract a decade ago. |
| The show remains the most viewed late-night programme, but among the most sought-after viewership of 18- to 49-year-olds, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC is gaining ground, and is now drawing nightly on average 0.9 million in that demographic compared to Leno’s 1.1m. That statistic alone helps explain NBC’s decision to finally – and presumably permanently this time – ditch its veteran star and jump a generation to Fallon. | The show remains the most viewed late-night programme, but among the most sought-after viewership of 18- to 49-year-olds, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC is gaining ground, and is now drawing nightly on average 0.9 million in that demographic compared to Leno’s 1.1m. That statistic alone helps explain NBC’s decision to finally – and presumably permanently this time – ditch its veteran star and jump a generation to Fallon. |
| As in so much of late-night television, age is key. The median age of Leno’s audience as he brings his era to a close is a shocking 57.8 years – on a par with his great rival David Letterman on CBS. Fallon and Kimmel hover around the 50-year mark, while only O’Brien paradoxically attracts an audience with a median age below 40. | As in so much of late-night television, age is key. The median age of Leno’s audience as he brings his era to a close is a shocking 57.8 years – on a par with his great rival David Letterman on CBS. Fallon and Kimmel hover around the 50-year mark, while only O’Brien paradoxically attracts an audience with a median age below 40. |
| O’Brien’s problem was that, though he performs well among the young, he alienated Leno’s ageing following, thus bringing the Tonight Show to the edge of the precipice of losing its prime position. Fallon will now be under pressure to hang on to as many loyal Leno viewers as he can, while gradually transitioning to a younger crowd. | O’Brien’s problem was that, though he performs well among the young, he alienated Leno’s ageing following, thus bringing the Tonight Show to the edge of the precipice of losing its prime position. Fallon will now be under pressure to hang on to as many loyal Leno viewers as he can, while gradually transitioning to a younger crowd. |
| “My hunch is that many of Leno’s older fans will not take readily to Jimmy Fallon and many will switch to Letterman,” cautions Deggans. | “My hunch is that many of Leno’s older fans will not take readily to Jimmy Fallon and many will switch to Letterman,” cautions Deggans. |
| Despite the heavy task ahead, Fallon is going into the new job wearing his trademark cheery face. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” he told Vulture. “If you want me to sing, I’ll sing. You want me to dance, I’ll dance. You want me to dress as a woman, I’ll dress like a woman.” | Despite the heavy task ahead, Fallon is going into the new job wearing his trademark cheery face. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” he told Vulture. “If you want me to sing, I’ll sing. You want me to dance, I’ll dance. You want me to dress as a woman, I’ll dress like a woman.” |