Comedy’s most loveable wisecrack Jimmy Fallon talks about his show and the late hours
Since Johnny Carson retired, the word ‘starring’ which is been in the title of this show. Could you explain us about that decisionIJ
I was looking through the old logos and when we were picking, we decided on a full moon because I thought that it would look iconic. Since The Honeymooners, no one has used a full moon. They always offer us crescents and little stars and things like that. We’re going to see if we can get our logo on the moon.
Are they going to use a laser. That’s what going to happenIJ
They’re going to work on that when they figure it out. So we were looking at different logos.
Jimmy, of all the things that have been said and written about Chris Christie, I’m guessing the thing that hurt the most was you and Bruce Springsteen. What does that feel like for youIJ
I really did think about that before we did it because he’s been on the show. I also informed Chris Christie that we were going to do it. I just let him know, The silver lining, Bruce Springsteen said your name.
Could you talk a bit about doing the show out of New YorkIJ Was that a tough sellIJ Was there pressure to keep it in lAIJ
It wasn’t easy for me and wasn’t a real option. I was born and brought up in New York. I live in New York with my wife and now we have a six month old baby. We should bring it back. It could be good. Why not bring it back to New YorkIJ What’s going to happenIJ What’s the worst that can happenIJ New York is a beautiful city. I just think it’s the perfect place, where it should be. I think of the lights, Times Square , Broadway, nightlife, the excitement, the glitz and the glamour of all that is The Tonight Show.
Tell us about The Tonight Show.
When we started, I didn’t really know how to do interviews and still I am learning to do this job and you saw some of the clips of what we did. This show has completely changed now from the time I started. Now I feel we’ve blossomed into the new The Tonight Show. The show will grow and change and hopefully if I am here for another five years, it will turn out into something totally different.
And just to follow up on that, are there adjustments you have to make because you’re on at an earlier hourIJ Do you have to be more mainstreamIJ
I wish that Steve Allen and Johnny Carson were still around just to see what we’re going to do with the show because I think when they invented this show, it was all about being funny, silly and goofy. Steve Allen was the first guy to sit on 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 funny to make everyone laugh.
Thinking about the ways in which you’ve done all the online work, which has been ground breaking for late night and made this move, you’ve got a lot of people who don’t normally turn on their TVs at 11:30 or 12:30 to actually watch television and engage with late night. And I’m wondering, now that you’re moving to an earlier hour, there maybe more expectations in terms of getting those people onto broadcast, how are you thinking about transitioning all that online work to get people tuned in to their televisions in more of a linear fashionIJ
I think The Tonight Show, for me is one of those shows where everyone knows at what time it’s on. They know that it’s on every night after your local news. It’s been around for almost 60 years. I still don’t understand that time slot. As far as online stuff is concerned, a new audience will not have to stay up that late, they can watch it online.”
What does it mean to follow in Johnny Carson’s shoesIJ
I mean, we’re skipping a lot of generations, but it means a lot to me. It’s surreal and it’s an honor. I don’t want to let anyone down. I want them to know that I’m going to work as hard as I could. This is an important job, and I’m looking forward to it. I just want to make everyone laugh.
We’ve heard that, when Jay first took over The Tonight Show he worked really hard to get affiliates in the middle of the country to buy into the show. He worked really hard to get people, viewers in the flyover country to buy into him. Is there an allegory for that nowIJ And do you feel like you have to work hard to win over those kind of viewers, maybe older viewers, who are the core of Jay’s supportIJ
You could see my work and whatever I’ve done. From Emmys best of special air primetime and when I crack my jokes, I want to make everyone laugh.
We had fun with the affiliate tour. I made it almost like a Guy Fieri travelling diner. We only went to the best spots, but it was fun travelling the country and looking at all these, it’s fun actually, just to see people. That’s why I like doing stand up because I can go out and see my fans.
The show airs on Comedy Central, Monday-Friday 11 PM onwards.