‘The Tonight Show’: NBC Extends Jimmy Fallon’s Contract Past 2021
Jimmy Fallon is sticking with The Tonight Show. The comedian has signed a contract extension with NBC to continue hosting the late-night show.
His current contract runs through to the end of 2021 after the network extended the deal in August 2015 for an additional three and a half years.
This comes after a showrunner change on The Tonight Show with Jamie Granet-Bederman taking charge of the show and Gavin Purcell stepping down to return to his development deal with Universal Television.
Fallon, who told staff today, according to a report in The New York Times, began hosting the show in February 2014, taking over from Jay Leno. He followed in the footsteps of Conan O’Brien, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar and Steve Allen to front the show, which is produced by Universal Television and Broadway Video.
However, The Tonight Show is no longer the ratings leader that it used to be. Recently, Fallon’s show has been beaten in the overnights by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The network will be hoping that a potential Joe Biden presidency will see viewers return, keen for more of the levity that Fallon provides compared to the politically charged comedy of the likes of Colbert.
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