Sources close to The Hollywood Reporter are indicating that Jay Leno may be leaving his role as host of The Tonight Show next year.
According to an article by THR, NBC is planning a May announcement that Leno will leave after over decade on the show. Sources are speculating that Late Night host Jimmy Fallon will replace Leno during the Summer of 2014 with a soft launch before the the official kickoff in the Fall.
Leno’s representative responded to the potential announcement saying, “We do not speculate on rumor.”
NBC could be making the change soon due to Kimmel moving to the 10:35pm time slot to take on Leno and Letterman head-to-head.
“The more time Jimmy Kimmel is in that slot, the more the young audience goes that way, the harder it is for [Fallon] to keep that audience,” a source told THR.
With Fallon in place, NBC is hoping they can lock in that key demographic.
Do you think Fallon should replace Leno? If not, who would you choose to host The Tonight Show?