Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ Scales Back to 4 Nights Per Week

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” is scaling back to a schedule of just four nights per week, IndieWire has confirmed, a big shift for the iconic late-night talk show that has been on air for the last 70 years.

Jimmy Fallon was the last holdout among late-night hosts; “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Daily Show,” and even Fallon’s lead-out “Late Night with Seth Meyers” had all been on a four-day schedule. Fallon had already been doing just four nights throughout the summer.

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NBC will air “Tonight Show” re-runs on Fridays. The change is taking place effective immediately. Previously, Fallon would either tape on a Friday or tape two shows on a Thursday.

The late-night TV business isn’t what it used to be, with more and more people opting to view clips on YouTube or social media rather than linear TV. The shift means fewer advertising dollars for NBC, which means a corner had to be cut.

NBC earlier this year renewed its deal with Fallon to continue on as host of “The Tonight Show” through 2028.

Fallon tends to lead in ratings among the key demographic, adults 18-49, but Colbert regularly wins in terms of total viewers.

Last year, Fallon was the subject of a Rolling Stone investigative piece that accused him of fostering a toxic work environment. The piece alleged that staffers would be intimidated and belittled by their superiors, that many suffered from mental health concerns and stress, and even that dressing rooms had even become “crying rooms.” Sources close to the show denied the accusations, though Fallon later apologized to staff in an all-staff Zoom call.

Fallon participated in Olympics coverage for NBC this past summer and hosted the closing ceremony. The prior summer, Fallon joined his fellow late-night hosts for a podcast called “Strike Force Five.”. The purpose was to raise money to pay their staffers during the WGA strike.

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