Jimmy Fallon Off to a Great Start on ‘The Tonight Show’

It’s been a month since Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” in February, and the show has succeeded beyond what NBC executives predicted.

Since Fallon premiered on “The Tonight Show”, it is clear that the 39-year-old is at the top of late-night TV. His ratings during his first week on the show hit numbers the network hasn’t seen since Johnny Carson’s last week in 1992. Fallon averaged 4.26 million viewers during the week of March 10-14 and has a significant lead over his late night rivals Kimmel and Letterman. During the same week Jimmy Kimmel hosted his show at SXSW in Austin,TX and only averaged 2.83 million viewers and David Letterman averaged 2.78 million viewers.

Clips from “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” posted on their YouTube channel are going viral and are being seen by millions. The segment of Will Smith and Fallon where they perform the evolution of hip-hop dancing has been seen more than 12.8 million times online. Fallon’s lip-sync duel with Paul Rudd has nearly 9 million views and the “Rappers Delight” clip of newsmen Brian Williams and Lester Holt has over 8 million views alone.

NBC executives says Fallon does not only attract a younger audience, with a demographic ranging viewers aged 18-to-49, he delivers funny and good-natured segments that leave viewers in good harmony, especially since most the viewers watch “The Tonight Show” show before they go to bed.

“What I notice in people’s reactions is not just that they like the show and think that it’s funny, but they like the feel-good spirit,” said Ted Harbert, NBC broadcasting chairman. “There’s a total absence of snarkiness, of cynicism. It’s just there to make you feel good before you go to sleep.”

At the rate and success Fallon is having with “The Tonight Show,” NBC executives are projecting that Fallon will be the new king of late-night TV.