Spending thirty years at one institutional American TV spot is so for the Carson era long gone. Late night talk show hosts in the new era move around a bit, leaving noobs at the helm more frequently. Because Jimmy Fallon will need some time to develop as smooth a stride as his predecessor, veteran producer Lorne Michaels is slapping training wheels on “Late Night” by letting Fallon wobble around the Internet.
Jimmy Fallon
We’re guessing cable access was booked.
Just in case you missed it, here’s what they’re doing with your late night talk show tradition: Leno’s going to ABC*—yes, ABC, which is like Carson going to, well, ABC—and Conan will take his place on “The Tonight Show.” Fallon will have feet dangling from Conan’s presumably high-set chair.
(Ed McMahon, after decades of mismanaging his money and facing foreclosure, has filed a mighty conveniently timed lawsuit against the hospital that treated him and the billionaire whose negligence made him break his neck to begin with.)
Not wishing to repeat O’Brien’s initial awkwardness finding his groove on “Late Night” Michaels wants Fallon to begin nightly webcasts this fall, months in advance of him actually broadcasting over the soon-to-be digitized airwaves.
Fallon will post night five to ten minute webcasts nightly at the usual 12:30 a.m. broadcast time, which will allow him to develop a daily rhythm while giving him some freedom for experimentation.
There you have it, Web audience. You’re now officially a TV test market.
*This still isn’t official yet, just chatter.
