The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

When Jay Leno left The Tonight Show for a second time, Jimmy Fallon took over in 2014 and steered the long-running late night franchise back to New York after decades in Los Angeles. Fallon built an episode around quick-fire monologues, celebrity interviews, and recurring comedy bits that lean on music and playful games. Steve Higgins serves as the announcer and foil, helping set a light, improvisational tone. The show mixes in sketches and variety elements with traditional talk show staples, aiming for a lively, audience-friendly hour rather than hard news or long-form analysis.

The series premiered in 2014, with Jimmy Fallon credited as creator and Dave Diomedi listed as director. It reestablished The Tonight Show brand in New York and kept a steady stream of high-profile guests from its first season onward.

The program has drawn attention from television award organizations, receiving nominations across variety and writing categories over the years. Those nods reflect industry recognition of the show's production values and its team of writers and performers, even when it didn’t sweep major ceremony headlines every year.

Culturally, Fallon's Tonight Show became known for content that translates well online, with short, repeatable segments and musical moments that spread across social platforms. Its emphasis on shareable clips helped shape how late night shows think about digital reach, and the program often served as a springboard for celebrity-guest moments that reached audiences beyond the live broadcast.

Critics and audiences have tended to split on the show's approach, which favors warm, game-oriented interaction over biting satire. On aggregate it holds a middling vote average of 5.9/10 from 362 user votes, with praise for its energy and musical creativity and critiques aimed at its occasionally safe, formulaic humor. Overall, it’s positioned as a friendly, entertainment-first take on late night television.