NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will no longer follow the original five-night-a-week schedule. NBC recently announced that the popular talk show will air original episodes only on Monday through Thursday. Naturally, fans of the show are wondering how the Friday slots will be filled in the upcoming weeks.
So, here is everything we know about The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s new schedule and the updates in its weekly episodes.
Why did NBC reduce The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s weekly episodes?
NBC has decided to cut short The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s weekly episodes due to a budget cut. (via Variety)
The report states that NBC has taken this decision in light of audiences moving away from consuming late-night shows. In this new era of digital entertainment, viewers are not as inclined towards watching late-night talk shows in a serial pattern as before. NBC, along with other networks like CBS and ABC, are hence updating their popular talk shows accordingly.
Other shows that have already shifted to a four-originals-a-week schedule are CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Now, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has followed suit.
What will air on Fridays instead of The Tonight Show?
The report by Variety has confirmed that the Friday slots for the show will be left for repeat episodes.
Jimmy Fallon was the last talk show host to air original episodes all five days from Monday through Friday. All the major late-night shows had already ceased to follow the original weekly format. There had even been times when Fallon had filmed two episodes on Thursday to air one the following evening. Besides his NBC commitments, Fallon has also stayed busy with other projects. He will be releasing a holiday album later this year and is also the author of a children’s book.