By Rob Owen
Pittsburg Post-Gazette via McClatchy-Tribune
PASADENA, Calif. — NBC is preparing to remake its late-night lineup as Jay Leno exits as host of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” today and Jimmy Fallon begins as host of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Feb. 17 (at midnight its first week following Olympics coverage, then moving back to its regular 11:35 p.m. time slot). On Feb. 24, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m.) debuts.
“Late Night” house band The Roots will join Fallon on “The Tonight Show,” which will originate from New York instead of its longtime Burbank, Calif., home. Fallon was born and raised in New York, and he wanted to bring “The Tonight Show” back there after a more than 40-year absence.
Fallon’s first guest will be Will Smith and his first musical guest will be U2.
This new iteration of “The Tonight Show” will certainly mirror Fallon’s personality and style as well as that of Fallon’s “Late Night.” (The head writer of “Late Night” is moving with Fallon to “The Tonight Show.”)
“There’s no defined thing as to what ‘The Tonight Show’ is and what it isn’t,” Lieb said. “The engine is there: It’s Jimmy Fallon. There’s a real reason he was picked to host this show, and there’s a reason people enjoy the show now. It’s what we do, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Fallon said having fun will be key to the show’s success.
“I wish that Steve Allen and Johnny Carson were still around just to see what we’re going to do with the show because when they invented this show, it was all about being fun and silly and goofy,” Mr. Fallon said. “And Steve Allen was the first guy to sit in a plate with ice cream and pretend he’s a banana split and get chocolate syrup all over him and roll around, because that’s what it should be. It should be goofy and fun and make everyone laugh. Everyone works too hard, and we’re the first thing after your local news. You watch us, and you get a good laugh, and you go to bed with a smile on your face. And that’s our job.”
With Fallon taking over “The Tonight Show,” “Saturday Night Live” head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor Seth Meyers will take over as host of “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” whose studio will be one floor above the new “Tonight Show” studio in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. (Meyers’ last “Weekend Update” on “SNL” aired this past weekend.)
Meyers, 40, said he plans to bring some elements from “Weekend Update” to “Late Night.”
“I’m drawn to the idea of making jokes about current events,” he said, adding that he brought the head writer of “Weekend Update” to his new show. “I like interviewing people who are fictional and I’d like to continue that to some degree.”
Meyers said he’ll have a separate area to interview characters to distinguish it from his interviews with real people, who will include Amy Poehler as his first guest.
Meyers said he’s not a music buff like Fallon, so he and producer Mike Shoemaker have surrounded themselves with people who are music experts.
As for interviews, he said he’s been working on his listening and interview skills.
He said the show will distinguish itself from its competition in its opening 15 minutes: “The biggest way to define yourself is in the two to three acts of comedy before the guests come out.”
