Leno makes it official: Leaving 'Tonight' in '14
Well, it's official: Jay Leno is leaving "The Tonight Show." Again. In a press release headlined, "JAY LENO ANNOUNCES HIS DEPARTURE FROM SUCCESSFUL 22-YEAR RUN FROM NBC'S 'TONIGHT SHOW" IN SPRING 2014," the late-night host confirmed the worst-kept secret in show business, that he'll step aside next year to make room for a younger successor.
Leno makes it official: Leaving 'Tonight' in '14
Ellen Gray, Daily News TV Critic
Well, it's official: Jay Leno is leaving "The Tonight Show." Again.
In a press release headlined, "JAY LENO ANNOUNCES HIS DEPARTURE FROM SUCCESSFUL 22-YEAR RUN FROM NBC’S ‘TONIGHT SHOW” IN SPRING 2014," the late-night host Wednesday confirmed the worst-kept secret in show business, that he'll step aside next year to make room for a younger successor.
That would be Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Late Night," which follows "The Tonight Show" (that would be the same "Tonight Show" that, under Leno, is still No. 1 in its time slot).
For those keeping score at home, Leno will be 63 on April 28. Fallon is 38.
Going out on top is something Leno, of course, has experienced before, when he agreed to step aside for Conan O’Brien in 2009. NBC, eager not to have to its new star face its old one in the same time slot on another network, signed Leno for a new 10 p.m. show that premiered the following fall.
I think we all know how that turned out, don’t we?
Here’s NBC’s s announcement (note reuse of "successful" and number of times "No. 1" is mentioned in connection with Leno:
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - April 03, 2013 - Jay Leno, longtime host of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," announced today that he will wrap up what will be 22 years of headlining the iconic late-night show in Spring 2014. NBC also announced today that Jimmy Fallon, now host of NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," will transition into new hosting duties on "The Tonight Show" franchise after Leno concludes his successful run.
As part of the transition, "The Tonight Show" will be returning to its original home in 30 Rock in New York and will be executive-produced by Emmy Award winner Lorne Michaels ("Saturday Night Live," "30 Rock").
Programming plans for the 12:35 a.m. (ET) time period currently are in development and will be announced soon.
Said Leno: "Congratulations Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage."
Said Fallon: "I'm really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow."
"Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years," said Steve Burke, Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal. "His long reign as the highest-ratedlate-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC.
"We are purposefully making this change when Jay is No. 1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was No. 1. Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time. I'm thrilled he will become the sixth host of 'The Tonight Show' at exactly the right moment, in conjunction with our coverage of next year's Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia.
"I also want to congratulate and thank Debbie Vickers and her 'Tonight Show' team for producing an entertaining, first-class show every night for the past two decades. Debbie's role in the creative and popular success of this franchise cannot be overstated."
Leno has hosted "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" since taking over the reins from television icon Johnny Carson in 1992. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has ranked No. 1 ahead of its ABC and CBS time-period competition in 18-49 viewers and total viewers for each season since Leno's return in March 2010 and for the 14 seasons before his departure in May 2009. During the current season, "Tonight" is consistently No. 1 versus its ABC and CBS slot rivals, averaging a 0.8 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 3.5 million viewers overall.
At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" has consistently ranked No. 1 in 18-49 versus the time period's ABC and CBS competition each season since debuting in March of 2009 and has also held the advantage over CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in total viewers for the last three seasons. So far during the 2012-13 season, "Late Night" is averaging a 0.5 rating, 3 share in adults 18-49 and 1.7 million viewers overall.
Before Leno became the host of the top-rated "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," he honed his comedy in clubs all over the country often exceeding 300 dates per year. He opened for the likes of Tom Jones and John Denver and after moving to Los Angeles began his career in television and film, both writing behind the scenes and making appearances in shows such as "Welcome Back Kotter" and films including "American Hot Wax." On March 2, 1977, Leno made his first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and was named permanent guest host in 1987. While he took over the desk full-time in 1992, Leno never stopped touring on the comedy circuit and still averages over 150 gigs a year.
Emmy and Grammy Award winner, Fallon began his TV career with "Saturday Night Live" in 1998, where he quickly became an audience favorite. Known for his spot-on impressions, innovative musical and comedy sketches and his stint as co-anchor of "Weekend Update" with Tina Fey, Fallon spent six successful years on theshow. In March 2009, Fallon returned to NBC and took over the late- night legacy with "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The show has continued to garner attention for its viral videos, audience games, A-list guests, and Fallon's choice of critically acclaimed house-band, The Roots.
In just four years on air, Fallon and the "Late Night" team have already begun collecting awards. Most recently, Fallon was honored with his second consecutive People's Choice Award for Favorite Late Night Host (2012 and 2013) and the show received the 2012 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Talk Show. "Late Night" was celebrated with a 2012 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Variety Series and earned three Emmy nominations in 2011, including the show's first nominations in the series and writing categories. The year prior, Fallon earned an Emmy for the show's website in the Interactive Media category and received the "Webby Person of the Year" Award in 2009. Fallon received a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album after releasing "Blow Your Pants Off" in 2012, a musical comedy album featuring song parodies written and performed on "Late Night."
Good riddance to old lantern-jaw. Not funny. Never was.— JohnnySak- better than ultra lib letterman— Lew Klein
- We'll see how long NBC waits to panic this time.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- He's been on borrowed time since he has been making jokes about the Kenyan and Democrats in general.— MilesLong1
- Stop it. They gave Conan his shot and NBC ended up paying him 40 million dollars for losing their 11:30pm audience. They had to bring Leno back and like him or not, he delivered.— wfs0868
- I don't think Conan got a long enough shot (takes awhile) but they also pushed Leno out far too early, before he was ready to go. That whole debacle was on NBC, not Leno or Conan. Fallon will do well but it takes time for a new guy to establish his audience.
— Sidewinder7 - You mean Leno is leaving the Howard Stern show.. All the material he stole from him.. no wonder he has a long face...— elfman
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His chin will stay on thru 2016 though.— Lil Tyreese Biggums- I heard that they are going to replace him with Conan O'Brien. Wait.....
This all seems very familiar doesn't it. If I was Jimmy Fallon, I would refuse to move to the Tonight show. Since you know you will likely be unemployed or worse on TBS in less than a year.— lostInPhilly - Fallon is the least funny and least entertaining of the late night talk show hosts. What is the matter with NBC?— Freedom Fries
- Who cares? Only old people watch talk shows.— pic man
- Yes, wfs, they gave Conan and chance with the worst lead-in imagineable.— cloudkitt
- Letterman's funnier than Leno but they were both funnier in the 80s.— Bruce in NM
- Fallon's comedy routine is like watching grass grow.— joedog
- Jimmy Who?— FrankJersey
