Jimmy Fallon has inked a deal with NBC to replace Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, a source close to the deal has leaked to The Hollywood Reporter.
NBC has been working on an exit strategy ever since the 62-year-old Leno began attacking the network’s executives on air and took shots at the show’s low ratings. Leno’s contract is currently set to expire in Sept. 2014 but the takeover could come as soon as early next year.
Some analyst speculate that NBC could launch Fallon as early as February to take advantage of the network’s high ratings during the Winter Olympics.
As previously reported by BackstageOL, the new incarnation of The Tonight Show is expected to include a move of the show’s studios from Burbank, California to New York City. There are reports that work has already quietly begun to build a new set in the Big Apple. If the show does move to New York City, it will be the first time the show has been moved from its Burbank studios since Johnny Carson moved the show to the West Coast from NYC in 1972.
Saturday Night Live‘s Seth Meyers is being rumored to replace Fallon on Late Night after he takes the reigns of the Tonight Show. Meyers as well as Late Night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien are all proteges of Late Night executive producer Lorne Michaels. Meyers has worked with the SNL creator ever since he joined the show’s cast in 2001.
NBC network executives have declined to confirm the new deal. For now they will let Fallon and Leno duke it out on national television, because the drama is showing a boost in ratings.
