Jay Leno steps in for Jimmy Fallon: How has late-night changed since Leno left?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Viewers tuning in for NBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon鈥� on Feb. 17 encountered a familiar face.聽
Former 鈥淭onight Show鈥� host Jay Leno popped in to present the monologue for the night with Fallon, with Leno delivering jokes about, among others, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.聽
Fallon took over the show in 2014 after Leno had hosted for more than 20 years.聽
The current host jokingly pretended to be injured, saying, 鈥淭his is 鈥楾he Tonight Show.鈥� The monologue has to go on,鈥� before Leno entered.聽
Leno鈥檚 new program 鈥淛ay Leno鈥檚 Garage,鈥� which focuses on cars, debuted on CNBC this past October.
Fallon began hosting 鈥淭onight鈥� shortly before several other new hosts debuted on late-night shows.
Soon after Fallon arrived, Stephen Colbert of 鈥淭he Colbert Report鈥� took over for David Letterman on CBS鈥檚 鈥淟ate Show,鈥� while actor James Corden took over for Craig Ferguson on CBS鈥檚 鈥淟ate Late Show.鈥� Seth Meyers of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� had arrived at NBC鈥檚 鈥淟ate Night,鈥� formerly hosted by Fallon, right around the same time Fallon debuted on 鈥淭he Tonight Show.鈥澛�
How has 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥� and late-night TV in general changed since Leno departed? For one, Fallon has increased viewer interest in the show, particularly young viewers.聽
Since debuting two years ago, Fallon has given NBC the two highest-rated seasons for 鈥淭onight鈥� in the last six years for total viewers and for the valued demographic of viewers 18-49.聽
鈥淣o one has been able to match the consistency and dominance of Jimmy Fallon,鈥� wrote of Fallon鈥檚 last two years.聽
In addition, past time-slot match-ups like Leno and Letterman were marked by on-air fighting. Relations between the current big names in late-night seem much friendlier.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge difference ... between shows slugging it out for guests or ratings and the highly personal, high-stakes conflict that until recently defined the late-night time slot,鈥� 飞谤辞迟别.听
In addition, the late-night show emphasis on viral clips has increased, with Fallon and Corden in particular becoming known for such segments as the 鈥淭onight Show鈥� lip-sync battles and other games and the 鈥淟ate Late Show鈥� 鈥渃arpool karaoke鈥� segments.聽
This helps address the fact that Fallon and his late-night comrades are producing these programs in an Internet-based age where TV habits have changed hugely.
鈥淚t is absolutely made for the modern television age, where networks are not only looking to attract viewers but also spur online engagement,鈥� wrote of Fallon鈥檚 lip-sync battle segments.
Elsewhere on the late-night dial, TBS recently addressed the lack of female hosts across all networks, especially since the departure of Chelsea Handler from her late-night show on E!. Former 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥� correspondent Samantha Bee recently debuted her new show 鈥淔ull Frontal鈥� on TBS, and reviews so far have been very positive.
鈥淎ll those fans who worried that 鈥楾he Daily Show鈥欌�檚 go-for-the-jugular political satire left when host Jon Stewart departed last year can rest easy because Samantha Bee is bringing the pain just like Stewart used to,鈥� wrote. 鈥淏ee has brought that instinct for sharp satire to her own well-crafted weekly show just in time for the 2016 election season. Welcome back, Samantha. We didn't know how much we needed you.鈥�
