It was finally made official this morning, April 3, that Jimmy Fallon will be taking over as host of "The Tonight Show" in February of next year. The transition from Jay Leno to Fallon will coincide with the 2014 Winter Olympics. February is also a sweeps month.
Jay Leno has had the highest ratings for the 11:35 time slot for most of his 20 years as the host of "The Tonight Show". So why does NBC want to make the switch now? Steve Burke, a top executive of NBC Universal, explained that they wanted to have Leno go out on top like his predecessor, Johnny Carson, did before him. Plus, NBC is worried that Jimmy Kimmel's recent move to that time slot on ABC would lock too many viewers in the younger demographic.
Jimmy Fallon's version of "The Tonight Show" will be recorded in New York. In 1972, Johnny Carson moved it from New York to Burbank, California, where it has remained ever since. There is already a larger studio being built at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for Jimmy.
Both Leno and Fallon have releases statements regarding the announcement. Leno expressed, "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." Fallon stated, "I'm really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow."
This is definitely shaping up to a smoother move than when Conan O'Brien took over hosting the show a few years ago, and that is a major understatement. As far as the other hosts at 11:35, David Letterman recently joked that he was going to change his name to 'Jimmy' to keep up with what's happening. He also mentioned in tonight's monologue, "(NBC) announced the official date of Jay Leno's departure- no mention of his official date of return, however." Jimmy Kimmel tweeted today, "Congratulations to my dear, sweet @jimmyfallon - a formidable rival and an incredible lover."
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