Commentary

Fallon's Trip To L.A. Marks One Year Since Leno Left

Has anyone else noticed that Jimmy Fallon’s trip to L.A. coincides with the one-year anniversary of Jay Leno’s exit from “The Tonight Show”?

Well, I noticed, if no one else has, because I still miss Jay -- even though I sometimes think I’m the only one who does.

Fallon’s “Tonight Show” is in Los Angeles all this week, through Friday, Feb. 6, which happens to be the date last year when Leno said farewell.

Feb. 6 was a Thursday last year, and the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics were on NBC the following evening. Since they would have either preempted Leno or pushed his final “Tonight Show” to the wee hours of the morning, he bowed out on a Thursday night.

Fallon debuted as the host of “The Tonight Show” a few weeks later, from New York, on Monday, Feb. 17. And seemingly, Leno, who had been host of TV’s top-rated late-night show for the better part of 20-plus years, was soon forgotten. 

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To the amazement of some skeptical naysayers (one of whom was yours truly), Fallon and his handlers -- led presumably by NBC late-night poobah Lorne Michaels -- have done everything right in Fallon’s inaugural year.

A single day doesn’t seem to go by in which a Fallon comedy bit isn’t at least a minor sensation on YouTube and social media the next day. This week's Fallon successes from L.A. have included one of his “Lip Sync Battle” segments, this one featuring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart; a duet with Neil Young in which the two sang “Old Man”; and a high-spirited reunion of the “Saved By the Bell” cast all in character (except Screech, who was absent).

While the Leno “Tonight Show” was not (and never will be) noted for its subtlety or sophistication, the Fallon “Tonight Show” is even more tumultuous -- a reflection perhaps of the noisier media age we live in. The clamor has paid off in the ratings: The Fallon show has a comfortable lead in the late-night wars -- averaging 4 million viewers a night with a 1.16 rating in the demo (18-49), season-to-date.

While Leno led the other late-night hosts in these categories too, these numbers are somewhat higher for Fallon, which means more money for NBC. Personally, I don’t care for Fallon as much as I liked Leno. Nevertheless, the switchover from Leno to Fallon has to be scored a success for NBC and, in retrospect, the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, there’s no sign that Leno is scheduled to turn up any time this week on these “Tonight” shows from Los Angeles. At the very least, he’s not on the guest lists that NBC has put out recently. There have been rumors recently that Leno’s next appearance in late-night will be with David Letterman some time before Letterman leaves the “Late Show” in May. This is still just a rumor, though.

As he always has, Leno maintains a busy live-performance schedule. He has given few interviews this past year, but he has turned up on the entertainment-news radar from time to time.

He received the annual Mark Twain award for humor at the Kennedy Center, appeared on Craig Ferguson’s final “Late Late Show” on CBS in December, and returned to “The Tonight Show” as Fallon’s guest in November. He mentored contestants on an episode of “Last Comic Standing” on NBC last summer, and last April, he showed up to dedicate a street in Burbank that had been renamed “Jay Leno Lane.”

Last Labor Day Weekend, CNBC aired a special in which Leno was seen kibitizing with other rich car collectors attending the annual classic car extravaganza that the wealthy seem to flock to in Pebble Beach, Calif. 

It turned out that the special was a test of sorts for a new CNBC series that Leno will host that is being developed from his long-running Web series about cars, “Jay Leno’s Garage.” There’s no word yet on a premiere date.

Observant Leno fans may have noticed that in his post-“Tonight Show” life, Leno has morphed into “casual Jay,” a man who eschews neckties and sports a hairstyle that seems conscientiously tousled. And he looks like he’s packed on a few pounds too, perhaps secure in the knowledge that he no longer has to perform on national TV every night.

A year after he left “The Tonight Show,” maybe Leno’s gotten used to not hosting the show and has made his peace with it. I only wish I could get used to Jimmy Fallon.

 

1 comment about "Fallon's Trip To L.A. Marks One Year Since Leno Left".
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  1. Ira Kalb from Kalb & Associates, February 5, 2015 at 1:51 p.m.

    Good analysis. I did not like Leno after his involvement in the sabotage of Conan. He is a better show host than Fallon, who is a weak interviewer. Fallon is a perpetual guest on his own show - being involved with, and often trying to overshadow, his guests. He never challenges them and acts as their buddy.

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