Jimmy Fallon Will Replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, NBC Confirms
By Josh Sanchez
After weeks of speculation, NBC officials confirmed on Wednesday that Jimmy Fallon will take over as late night host of “The Today Show” when longtime host Jay Leno departs. Fallon will take over as the show’s host at the conclusion of the network’s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia.
Fallon will be the sixth host in the show’s history.
Unlike Leno’s first departure, the two sides reached an agreement and everyone was working together as they looked for his successor.
“The main difference between this and the other time is I’m part of the process. The last time the decision was made without me. I came into work one day and — you’re out,” Leno said in an interview, via the New York Post. “There really aren’t any complications like there were the last time. This time it feels right.”
NBC made sure that they consulted Leno this time around and that everyone was on the same page.
“Clearly our goal has been to make this a smooth transition,” Steve Burke, the chief executive of NBC Universal, said. “Jay deserves to be treated like someone who has done a wonderful thing for our company for two decades.”
Leno and Fallon have mutual respect and they are comfortable moving the show forward to the next stage.
Will Fallon be able to carry on the tradition of The Tonight Show or was there more of a deserving candidate to fill the void that Leno will leave?
How will the show fare? Sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts on the show’s new direction.