The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

[Pink Ranger]

What the Tonight Show needs is a "four quadrant" personality that can retain the existing audience of boomers and middle American families, while appealing to a slightly younger audience. Conan proved that you can't just go for the younger audience and lose the older audience and expect to get good results from a business perspective.

If NBC really wanted to land a KO in the late night game, I'd recommend them to break the bank and get Ryan Seacrest. You may not like him, but middle America is comfortable with him, boomers like him, parents like him, a lot of young people (and even children) like him, and the young people that don't like him at least know who he is.

The opposite strategy would be the Michael Strahan route, take someone cheaper, without much of a pre-existing fan base (in the talk show world at least) but who can build from the Tonight Show's core audience and get some additional younger viewers from there.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

What the Tonight Show needs is a "four quadrant" personality that can retain the existing audience of boomers and middle American families, while appealing to a slightly younger audience. Conan proved that you can't just go for the younger audience and lose the older audience and expect to get good results from a business perspective.

If NBC really wanted to land a KO in the late night game, I'd recommend them to break the bank and get Ryan Seacrest. You may not like him, but middle America is comfortable with him, boomers like him, parents like him, a lot of young people (and even children) like him, and the young people that don't like him at least know who he is.

The opposite strategy would be the Michael Strahan route, take someone cheaper, without much of a pre-existing fan base (in the talk show world at least) but who can build from the Tonight Show's core audience and get some additional younger viewers from there.

I could go along with someone like Seacrest, but he's got so many other projects/jobs that I'm not sure he'd be willing to do it. Plus, he's not exactly known as a comedian/actor-type so I'm not sure how he'd fill and run his version of a talk show. It just couldn't be a TV-version of his radio show.

 

[Slushy]

Now, I know there are tons of Coco fans out there, but let me explain something to you: Leno was forced out initially thus the whole fall out with Conan because NBC wanted to have their cake and eat it too (keep both guys around) so Conan got fu**ed over with Leno being labelled the bad guy since even though it was all the network's doing.

And look history is about to repeat itself:

But sources say that NBC wants to target younger viewers

So Leno is getting fu**ed over again despite still being one of the network's best draws. NBC continues to amaze me.

By the way, I think Jimmy Fallon sucks and is probably the worst guy to take over the show. I think Conan O'Brien is overrated, but its a shame he had to go through all that drama with executive's politics only for Fallon to get a smooth transaction almost 4 years later.

 

[Matt]

Meh, karma is a *****, Jay.

I personally think Fallon is funny. His skits are great....but I'm not entirely sure that he won't just be Conan 2.0.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

Now, I know there are tons of Coco fans out there, but let me explain something to you: Leno was forced out initially thus the whole fall out with Conan because NBC wanted to have their cake and eat it too (keep both guys around) so Conan got fu**ed over with Leno being labelled the bad guy since even though it was all the network's doing.

And look history is about to repeat itself:



So Leno is getting fu**ed over again despite still being one of the network's best draws. NBC continues to amaze me.

By the way, I think Jimmy Fallon sucks and is probably the worst guy to take over the show. I think Conan O'Brien is overrated, but its a shame he had to go through all that drama with executive's politics only for Fallon to get a smooth transaction almost 4 years later.

It's funny how they're trying to get more younger viewers, yet Jay is still the leader in the 18-49 demographic, only dropping for the first 4 days of Jimmy Kimmel's move.

NBC would have been better served to have just released Jay from his contract back when he gave up the Tonight Show the first time instead of being so worried about him going to another network. Jay still had time left but wanted to keep working on TV so he'd feel like he earned his pay. Jay threatened to sue to get out so NBC relented and gave him his own show. That undercut him, Conan, and the network as a whole.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Letterman did call Leno insecure:

[YT]EoUkXFJpM3E[/YT]

 

[Slushy]

Doctors in Canada were shocked after pulling a 3-inch knife blade from the back of a 32-year old man. The knife had been in there for three years! Imagine that, the guy had a knife in his back for three years. He must've worked at NBC too. I was stunned by that.

Might as well go out swinging.

 

[Dude of Steel]

Jay is still the leader in the 18-49 demographic

On network television, which means nothing these days. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Family Guy reruns on Adult Swim get better 18-49 ratings than Jay Leno. Another important factor is that Leno has no presence on the internet. The 18-49 demo mostly watches DVR, online streaming, and On-Demand. Jay fails on all three of those. Conan's ratings on TBS have gotten pretty terrible, perhaps the lowest of his career, but he dominates through all those other platforms. That's why he's now doing segments specifically for the Internet like "Clueless Gamer" and his Charlie Rose-style interviews. NBC wants Leno out because he is succeeding through out-dated standards. Fallon would, of course, improve on that. Traditional nielsen ratings are no longer as important.

 

[runawayboulder]

NBC is so poorly mismanaged.

 

[Dr. Evil]

One of NBC's main issues is relying way too much on the only primetime show on their network that gets massive ratings (Sunday Night Football).

 

[Shifty]

So who would you want to see takeover Late Night, which I'm guessing would move to California?

Seth Meyers is the frontrunner given his 7 seasons on Weekend Update, co-head writer on SNL, a SNL castmember since 2001 and Lorne Michaels being a Late Night producer.

Then that opens a spot for Weekend Update this fall which I don't think anyone on the current cast could fill. Either a writer or new talent should take over and they can go back to the two anchors to create two new stars.

Letterman will be retiring soon which will open a spot on CBS. ABC could also

 

[Prison Mike]

I wouldn't mind Meyers taking over Late Night.

 

[Incrediblejeff]

I like Fallon,but I feel that it may be too soon for him to takeover.

 

[Dude of Steel]

I'm not a fan of Seth Myers. So no, I wouldn't want him taking over Late Night. And if Late Night moves to California, Lorne Michaels won't produce it. So, it's a moot point.

 

[Gold Samurai]

I like Fallon,but I feel that it may be too soon for him to takeover.

Well Leno screwed up the whole change over with Conan. Leno came back but he only has a few years before he gets too old.

Fallon just started but now needs to leave "Late night" after only 5 years.

The whole time table is screwed up. Fallon should host when he had at least 10 years at "Late Night"

 

[Mace Dolex]

Seth Meyers might take over Late Night

Seth is funny doing Weekend report on SNL but out of that he hasn't proven himself that he can attract an audience.

I though the same about Dennis Miller, his sarcastic tone on SNL was perfect but then I noticed that's how he is in real life which can get fastidious after awhile which must be why his talk show in the 90's tanked.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Seth is funny doing Weekend report on SNL but out of that he hasn't proven himself that he can attract an audience.

I though the same about Dennis Miller, his sarcastic tone on SNL was perfect but then I noticed that's how he is in real life which can get fastidious after awhile which must be why his talk show in the 90's tanked.

Seth will do just fine. He's already got a bigger following than Conan did when he took over Late Night, and maybe Letterman too for that matter.

 

[Mace Dolex]

Seth will do just fine. He's already got a bigger following than Conan did when he took over Late Night, and maybe Letterman too for that matter.

Hmm, I'm sorry but how has Seth gained a following? does he work other venues? comedy nightclubs? really independent and really low budget direct to DVD films?

 

[Pink Ranger]

Hmm, I'm sorry but how has Seth gained a following? does he work other venues? comedy nightclubs? really independent and really low budget direct to DVD films?

A lot of people still watch SNL, a major network show where he reliably appears every week and has a strong niche as the joke newscaster for many years now. People criticize SNL, but the Weekend Update is consistently one of the better parts of the show, and every time a young person watches a 5 minute clip of Stefon or Drunk Uncle on youtube or hulu, there Seth is.

Conan had virtually no public profile when he became Late Night host, and Letterman was a specialty broadcasting host who was an occasional Tonight Show guest host before he got the Late Night show.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Letterman jokes about Tonight Show:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/letterman-finally-addressed-the-latest-tonight-show-shakeup-last-night/

“They call up and they want to know if I would mind changing my name to Jimmy,”

 

[Lily Adler]

Since they're looking at SNL alum, they should just give Tina Fey the job.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Since they're looking at SNL alum, they should just give Tina Fey the job.

Tina Fey would be great, but she is too big to be a TV talk show host, at least at this point in her career.

If they were seriously considering a female host for Late Night, I would like to see Amy Sedaris or Sarah Vowell do it.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I know he has a deal with CBS for a late night show (although I don't see a good spot for him with Letterman and Ferguson on still), but I always wondered why NBC didn't attempt to get Arsenio Hall.

 

[Slushy]

He made fist pumping cool while those fu**s from Jersey Shore were barely born!

 

[Dr. Evil]

I know he has a deal with CBS for a late night show (although I don't see a good spot for him with Letterman and Ferguson on still), but I always wondered why NBC didn't attempt to get Arsenio Hall.

It's more of a syndication deal with CBS Television Distribution.