The Worst Late Night Host Is Finally Feeling The Heat
Among fans of late-night television, there has often been a debate about who the very best late-night host is (our vote will always go to Conan O’Brien). There’s far less debate about who the worst late night host is, though…that dubious label goes to Jimmy Fallon, the guy who went from messing up his lines on Saturday Night Live to messing up his interviews on The Tonight Show.
Now, it looks like he is starting to feel the heat from more than angry fans. Tonight Show ratings have plunged, the show has been cut to four nights a week, and Fallon’s future career has become increasingly uncertain.
Jimmy Fallon In Trouble?
Defenders of Fallon might be quick to say that the label “Worst Late Night Host” is a very subjective one, but in this case, his failures are backed up by some very depressing numbers.
Since he began hosting in 2019, The Tonight Show ratings have dropped by 41 percent, and he is consistently coming in third place behind rival hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.
Now, NBC has reduced the show to only four nights a week, something that allegedly goes against Fallon’s original agreement with the network.
Specific Demands
According to an insider familiar with the worst late-night host’s plight, Fallon had a specific demand when he took the job a decade ago: “he insisted on five tapings a week and promised the decision would pay for itself, and it did for the first few years.”
However, the insider notes that “today, the number of advertisers willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for commercials has definitely shrunk, and even Jimmy admits that.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the beleaguered host is caught between more successful late night rivals and a media landscape completely different than it was ten years ago.
Big Time Guests
The insider points out that Fallon still has some major strengths, though only time will tell whether they are enough to help him shake the “worst late night host” label.
“Jimmy does have a knack for getting big guests,” which includes Hollywood buddies like Amy Poehler and Adam Sandler, and “uses his personal connections to music stars to help increase ratings.”
That last point is very evident because “The Tonight Show has become Billie Eilish’s go-to venue to debut new music.”
A Toxic Workplace?
It’s possible that Fallon’s connections and superstar producer Lorne Michaels might be enough to save The Tonight Show, but those plummeting ratings aren’t the only reason that Fallon has been labeled the worst late night host.
Last year, Rolling Stone quoted several current and former coworkers who alleged that Fallon had created a “toxic workplace” that negatively impacted their mental health.
Arguably even worse were the allegations that Fallon was very “erratic” and that he would frequently be either “inebriated” or hungover when he was supposed to be working, causing a major scandal for both himself and the network.
Jimmy Fallon Apologizes
Those allegations sent Fallon apologizing to seemingly everyone in his studio, and he made very public apologies, insisting that he “never set out to create that type of atmosphere at the show.”
Obviously, he wanted to rehabilitate his image as the worst late night host, an image apparently shared by not only his fiercest critics but many of his very own employees.
Unless The Tonight Show can suddenly boost its ratings, Jimmy Fallon may prove to be too much of a liability for him to have much of a future at NBC after (or perhaps even before) his contract expires in 2028.
Source: Radar Online
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