Premiere (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)

Last updated
Episode 1
The Tonight Show Starring
Jimmy Fallon episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Featured music"Invisible"
"Ordinary Love"
Original air dateFebruary 17, 2014 (2014-02-17)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
—		Next →
"Episode 2 (February 18, 2014)"
List of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon episodes (2014)
List of episodes

The untitled debut episode of American late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is the first episode to air in 2014, and the first episode of the series overall. The debut episode originally aired in the United States on February 17, 2014 on NBC.

Contents

Synopsis

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon premiered on February 17, 2014, following NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics (the show started at midnight, past its usual 11:35 start time, as a result). [1] Fallon strolled out to applause, making light jokes referencing the storied franchise's host debacle of four years prior. [2] He introduced his supporting stars and gave a brief history of his life and career, thanking his parents (who were in the audience) and the 5 previous Tonight Show hosts (Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Conan O'Brien) and explaining how his nightly monologue would work. [3] Following this, he once again took his place behind the curtain, restarting the show with more topical jokes on the Olympics and his first bit, Tonight Show Superlatives (an extension of a similarly titled bit from his Late Night tenure). [4] [5]

After taking his place behind the desk for the first time, Fallon took a moment to chide a friend who once bet him $100 he would never host The Tonight Show. After this, Robert De Niro emerged from behind the curtain, laid $100 down on Fallon's desk, and promptly exited; De Niro was Fallon's first guest on Late Night in 2009. Then, one by one, a line of celebrities followed to give Jimmy their $100, including Tina Fey, Joe Namath, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who can be heard thanking Fallon for bringing Tonight back to the Big Apple), Mariah Carey, Tracy Morgan, Joan Rivers (a former guest host on Johnny Carson's Tonight making her first appearance on Tonight since falling out with Carson in the mid-1980s), Kim Kardashian, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mike Tyson, Lady Gaga, and late-night rival Stephen Colbert. Colbert, the last to pay up, offered his $100 by dumping a bucket of pennies on Fallon, greeting him to the same time slot as his then current show, The Colbert Report , shouting "Welcome to 11:30, bitch!" to Fallon, and taking a selfie with him that he later posted to his Twitter feed. [6] [5]

Following the first commercial break, guest Will Smith and Fallon launched into a pre-taped sketch titled "The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing," rotating through various synchronized moves such as the Robot, the Humpty Dance, the Dougie and more; when Fallon begins to twerk, Smith walks offstage in disgust. [4] The next segment took place at the Top of the Rock, the roof of the 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with U2 performing their new single "Invisible" to the Manhattan skyline as the sun set. [5] The rooftop staging was devised by executive producer Lorne Michaels the previous Wednesday, with its odd placement in the middle of the show to take advantage of the sunset. [7] [4] Next, Fallon welcomed Smith for the interview, with topics ranging from his parody of Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" as Neil Young, and Smith's recent skydiving endeavor. U2 then returned and took their places on the couch for a short interview and an acoustic rendition of their single "Ordinary Love," accompanied by The Roots. [5] Fallon ecstatically closed the show and ran through the audience, high-fiving fans and seeking out his parents in the audience. [4]

Reception

Critical reviews

The debut episode received mixed but generally positive reviews. [8] The New York Times 's Alessandra Stanley referred to the show's premiere as "more sweet than sassy," calling Fallon "the grateful heir, the eager freshman, the class clown with top grades and a good heart, someone older viewers can embrace without fear of being mocked or overlooked." [9] Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "If he didn't exactly come roaring out of the gate, Fallon did demonstrate the mixture of old-world courteousness, junior-high-school goofiness and seemingly unending enthusiasm that has charmed audiences, network bosses and fellow stars." [10] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "No one is more excited than Jimmy," noting that "It will be interesting to see over the months (and hopefully years) to follow how he evolves behind the desk." [6] Robert Bianco of USA Today praised Fallon's "easy-to-like TV persona [and] gentle style," calling the host well-suited to the format. [11]

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter was positive in his assessment of the evening, but noted the older fanbase used to Leno may not latch on as quickly. [12] James Poniewozik of Time found Fallon's introduction, including his background and "incredibly brilliant [...] So each introduction Fallon made was a chance to frame the story, from the beginning, in a way that could make these longtime Tonight viewers—many of them older—comfortable with him, even while he hopefully brought in new ones." [3]

Some critics, however, felt that Fallon overcompensated in terms of gratitude and humility. Bianco also said, "While gratitude and humility are admirable traits, there were times in Monday's opening moments when Fallon risked taking them to uncomfortable extremes." [11] Slate Magazine's Willa Paskin tended to agree, noting that "Fallon's appeal is how earnest and energetic he is: the king of comedic kindness. [...] But his opening bit revealed just how much Fallon and his staff understand the power—and not just the authenticity—of Jimmy’s ultimate-nice-guy persona: They sold the hell out of it." [13] "Indeed, Fallon comes across as eager to please almost to a fault, and he treated his Tonight Show launch very much like a guy auditioning to be accepted into homes," said Brian Lowry of Variety , who considered the premiere episode a demonstration in Fallon's strengths and weaknesses. [14] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times called it, following the hype, "conspicuously, and seemingly consciously, low-energy." [15]

Ratings

The debut episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged a 3.8 rating in adults 18–49 and 11.31 million viewers overall in Nielsen's fast-national estimates. [1] This made it the second-largest audience for The Tonight Show since May 2009, behind Leno's final farewell two weeks earlier, and the transition to Conan O'Brien nearly five years prior. The program's first full week averaged 8.490 million viewers, making it the franchise's most-watched week in 20 years. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Leno</span> American television host and comedian (born 1950)

James Douglas Muir Leno is an American television host, writer and comedian. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. When O'Brien turned down NBC's offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, it led to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict which resulted in Leno returning to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and from 2021 to 2023, hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.

<i>Late Show with David Letterman</i> American late-night talk show (1993-2015)

The Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.

<i>The Tonight Show</i> American late-night talk show franchise

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on the NBC Television Network since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien (2009–2010), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Besides the main hosts, a number of regular "guest hosts" have been used, notably Ernie Kovacs, who hosted two nights per week during 1956–1957, and a number of guests used by Carson, who curtailed his own hosting duties back to three nights per week by the 1980s. Among Carson's regular guest hosts were Joey Bishop, McLean Stevenson, David Letterman, David Brenner, Joan Rivers, and Jay Leno, although the practice has been mostly abandoned since hosts currently prefer reruns to showcasing potential rivals. Fallon has used guest hosts rarely, co-hosting the May 24, 2021 broadcast with Dave Grohl, Jimmy Kimmel hosting the April 1, 2022 broadcast, Shawn Mendes co-hosting the April 29, 2022 broadcast, Megan Thee Stallion co-hosting the August 11, 2022 broadcast, Demi Lovato co-hosting the August 17, 2022 broadcast, and Jack Harlow co-hosting the October 6, 2022 broadcast.

<i>Late Night with Conan OBrien</i> American late-night talk show (1993–2009)

Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central and 12:37 am Mountain in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's sidekick; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7 and led by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.

<i>Jimmy Kimmel Live!</i> American late-night talk show

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, sometimes shortened to JKL, is an American late-night political satire talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show is held at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California. It debuted on January 26, 2003, as part of ABC's lead-out programming for Super Bowl XXXVII. For its first ten years, Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired at either the midnight or 12:05 a.m. ET/PT before moving to 11:35 p.m. on January 8, 2013. Despite its name, the show has not regularly aired live since 2004, when censors were unable to properly bleep censor a barrage of swearing from actor Thomas Jane.

<i>The Tonight Show with Jay Leno</i> American talk show hosted by Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010–2014)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.

<i>Last Call with Carson Daly</i> Television talk show

Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with The Tonight Show and Late Night. In 2009, Last Call abandoned its studio-based format, and was retooled as an entertainment program featuring interviews and performances filmed on-location with Daly.

Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically the radio and the television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule.

<i>The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson</i> American television series

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the Late Late Show franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2014. It followed the Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup, airing weekdays in the U.S. at 12:37 a.m. Taped in front of a live studio audience from Monday to Thursday at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California, directly above the Bob Barker Studio, it was produced by David Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated and CBS Television Studios.

In the United States, late night television is the block of television programming intended for broadcast after 11:00 p.m. and usually through 2:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (ET/PT), leading out of prime time; informally, the daypart can include the designated overnight graveyard slot. Most notably, the type of programming that has been traditionally showcased in the daypart—most commonly shown after, if not in competition with, local late-evening newscasts—encompasses a particular genre of programming that falls somewhere between a variety show and a talk show.

<i>The Jay Leno Show</i> Short-lived American late-night talk show

The Jay Leno Show is an American talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010. The program—which aired on weeknights in a 10:00 p.m. ET/PT timeslot—was modeled heavily upon the format of his late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by celebrity interviews and other comedy segments.

<i>The Tonight Show with Conan OBrien</i> American late-night television talk show

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's Tonight Show franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 16 years, until his brief succession after Leno.

<i>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon</i> American late-night talk show

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon. The hour-long show aired from March 2, 2009 to February 7, 2014 on weeknights at 12:35 AM Eastern/11:35 pm Central, on NBC.

<i>Late Night</i> (franchise) American late-night talk show franchise

Late Night is an American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC since 1982. Four men have hosted Late Night: David Letterman (1982–1993), Conan O'Brien (1993–2009), Jimmy Fallon (2009–2014), and Seth Meyers (2014–present). Each iteration of the show was built around its host, and maintained distinct identities aside from the title, timeslot, and network. The longest-serving host to date was O'Brien, who hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien for almost 16 years, from September 1993 to February 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Late-night talk show</span> Genre of comedic talk show, airing late at night

A late-night talk show is a popular genre of talk show, originating in the United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It is characterized by spontaneous conversation, and for an effect of immediacy and intimacy as if the host were speaking alone to each of the millions of audience members. Late-night talk shows are also fundamentally shaped by the personality of the host, which constitutes the "trademark" of the show.

2010 <i>Tonight Show</i> conflict American late-night talk show fiasco

The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of long-running franchise The Tonight Show.

<i>The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon</i> American late-night talk show

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incarnation of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise, with Fallon serving as the sixth host. The show also stars sidekick and announcer Steve Higgins and house band The Roots. The Tonight Show is produced by Katie Hockmeyer and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels. The show records from Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center, New York City, which is the same studio in which Tonight Starring Jack Paar and then The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson were produced from 1957 until 1972.

<i>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert</i> American late-night talk show

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second iteration of CBS' Late Show franchise. The program is taped at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, the same studio as its predecessor Late Show with David Letterman. It airs live to tape in most U.S. markets weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT, as with its competitors Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

<i>The Late Show</i> (franchise) American media franchise

The Late Show is an American late-night talk show franchise on CBS. It first aired in August 1993 with host David Letterman, who previously hosted Late Night with David Letterman on NBC from 1982 to 1993. Letterman's iteration of the program ran until his retirement on May 20, 2015. Comedian Stephen Colbert, best known for his roles on Comedy Central programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, assumed hosting duties that September. The show originates from the Ed Sullivan Theater in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York, and airs live to tape in most U.S. markets at 11:35 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 10:35 in the Central and Mountain time zones.

References

  1. 1 2 Rick Kissell (February 18, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon's Debut as Tonight Show Host Draws 11.3 Million Viewers". Variety . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ David Bianculli (February 18, 2014). "With Humor And A Nod To History, Fallon Takes Over The Tonight Show". NPR . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 James Poniewozik (February 18, 2014). "The Smartest Thing Jimmy Fallon Did on His First Tonight Show". Time . Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gary Trust (February 18, 2014). "U2, Will Smith Rock Jimmy Fallon's First Tonight Show: Minute-By-Minute Live Taping Review". Billboard . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Gary Levin (February 18, 2014). "It's Jimmy Fallon's day on Tonight Show". USA Today . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Darren Franich (February 18, 2014). "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon premiere review: No one is more excited than Jimmy". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Debbie Emery (February 17, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon Reveals the 'New Era' of The Tonight Show to Brian Williams (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ Debbie Emery (February 18, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon on Tonight Show: What the Critics Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 18, 2014. The initial reaction to the latest head of NBC's late night post was positive...
  9. ↑ Alessandra Stanley (February 18, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon Debuts New Tonight Show in New York". The New York Times . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ Steve Johnson (February 18, 2014). "Review: Jimmy Fallon takes over Tonight Show". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Robert Bianco (February 18, 2014). "Review: Fallon is easy to like in Tonight Show debut". USA Today . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  12. ↑ Tim Goodman (February 17, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon: A Strong First Tonight Show Belies the Long Wait Ahead For Late Night Dominance". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  13. ↑ Willa Paskin (February 18, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon Brings Earnest, Nice-Guy Vibe to His First Tonight Show". Slate Magazine . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Brian Lowry (February 18, 2014). "TV Review: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". Variety . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ Mary McNamara (February 18, 2014). "After the hype, Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show is strangely muted". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ NELLIE ANDREEVA (February 22, 2014). "Jimmy Fallon's Debut Delivers 'Tonight Show's Most Watched Week In 20 Years". deadline.com. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.