by EMILY SZPAK Social Media Coordinator
Following Jay Leno’s retirement from the “Tonight Show”, Jimmy Fallon was selected to fill the open spot, premiering on February 17. Fallon attracted lots of viewers, increasing the ratings and blowing out the competition on his first night out.
Coming from his “Late Night” show, Fallon has already proved himself as a splendid addition to the midnight line-up. He will be serving as the sixth host ever on the “Tonight Show”‘s history.
“I’m a huge fan of Jimmy Fallon; I loved watching him on SNL and he’s gonna do great on Tonight,” says junior Tiffany Goncalves.
Fallon started off his debut, bringing on stars Will Smith and U2. The show itself, however, started 30 minutes later than usual due to the Olympic games.
Welcoming a large audience directly after the games, Fallon introduced himself, thanked the people he wished to thank, and began his new journey. So far, Fallon has had an array of guests including Will Ferrell, Kristin Wiig, and first lady Michelle Obama.
Obama did not just do any interview, she joined Ferrell and Fallon (dressed as awkward teenage girls), in one of their popular skits “ew!”, where she spoke about exercise and healthy alternatives to junk foods such as potato chips. However, she coupled it with Fallon and Ferrell’s sense of humor and made it entertaining to watch. The segment included a dance party, shy face-off, and Ferrell’s character making out with a Harry Styles poster.
This was not the only skit Fallon had on the show. On his first night, he and Smith did an ‘evolution of hip-hop’ routine. The segment featured Fallon and Smith doing popular 90s moves, like the “cabbage patch”, “running man”, and “the wop”. The pair also created new names for some, such as “the thing with their leg no one can do”. The audience loved it because Fallon’s premiere gained record-breaking viewers.
Later in the week, Fallon welcomed Wiig onto the show, but welcoming her as Styles. Wiig was interviewed as Styles, answering personal questions and then singing ‘his’ hit song, “What Makes Your Beautiful.”
Another night in his premiere week featured Bradley Cooper, Emma Thompson, and Tim McGraw in charades. The pairs got pretty competitive, also including a little rivalry between Fallon and McGraw (who were on the same team).
“I’ve watched a couple of the skits online, and they had me dying! I love skits like that, Jimmy’s really funny!” says junior Rebecca Tessler.
Fallon has proved thus far that he is going to be a great addition to the “Tonight Show”, hopefully outdoing Conan’s one year hosting it in 2009. Fallon took a shot at NBC, saying, ” I’m Jimmy Fallon, I’ll be your host – for now”.
Overall, Fallon seems to be an affable host thus far and will carry the “Tonight Show” far. With all of his experience in the business, having made people laugh for years, his fresh face will bring a new aura to the show.