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Television

How Not to Get Fired From ‘The Tonight Show’: A Guide for Jimmy Fallon

By Jason Bailey on

So it’s official: Jimmy Fallon, SNL character-breaker turned Late Night host, will take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno next February. The handoff has been confirmed by NBC, Leno, and Fallon, who told the New York Times, “I have nothing but respect for Jay. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have a show to be taking over.” That’s a nice (if slightly inaccurate) bit of car-waxing from Mr. Fallon, who is wise to keep on the best possible terms with Mr. Leno, a man known for doing whatever it takes to hang on to Tonight. And with the outgoing host already making joking-but-not-really overtures that he’s not quite done yet (“Would I do it again? Believe me, the phone’s not ringing off the hook. It will be nice if people seem interested. But I’ll let it sit where it is”), and slightly ominous pronouncements about his expectations for his successor (“I would like to see Jimmy keep it at No. 1, which I’m sure he will”), Fallon’s gonna have to be very careful that Leno doesn’t end up repeating what he did to Conan and showing up behind the desk again nine months later. With that in mind, we’ve got a few suggestions that Jimmy might want to consider if he wants to keep Tonight. … Read More

Television

A Brief History of the Battles for Late-Night TV Supremacy

By Jason Bailey on

If you’ve felt a sense of déjà vu in TV news lately, you’re not alone. The television blogs and trades are once again dominated by rumors, gossip, and inside information on NBC’s attempts to oust Tonight Show host Jay Leno for the younger, funnier, and more youth-friendly host of Late Night. The names are different, but the story’s the same — the only suspense is whether it’ll play out differently this time around. Then again, the post-local news slot on the Peacock Network has always been a contentious place; even a quick glance at the history of The Tonight Show reveals decades of battles, back-stabbings, and would-be usurpers. Join us after the jump for a brief rundown of the show’s many heavyweight bouts. … Read More

Television

Watch Bob Odenkirk Describe His Ideal Episode of ‘Breaking Bad’ Spin-Off ‘Better Call Saul’

By Judy Berman on

Showrunners of TV series with cult fan bases, it is time you learned that you can never say anything about a movie or a spin-off or really any derivative work and expect your viewers not to obsess over it. So, now that Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has told Entertainment Weekly, “I would love to see a Saul Goodman spin-off show when it’s all said and done,” the Internet is off and running. In an online interview segment Late Night with Jimmy Fallon sourced from Tumblr questions, Bob Odenkirk answers one user’s request that he “[d]escribe your ideal episode of Better Call Saul: The Spinoff.” It turns out that Odenkirk is mostly preoccupied with whether Saul will even make it through Breaking Bad‘s final season alive — which we have to admit has us concerned. We’ve grown so close to these characters that we don’t want anyone to die… except, of course, for Walt. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. If you missed last night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Fiona Apple stopped by to perform “Anything We Want” and a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It” with The Roots. She also discussed her infamous Roseland Ballroom meltdown. Watch the footage here.

2. The fact that Hans Zimmer is scoring… Read More

Television

Jimmy Fallon Hit with Bizarre Sex-Discrimination Lawsuit

By Judy Berman on

There’s been a lot of talk in the past few years about the lack of women on late-night TV, from the near-absence of female hosts to the scarcity of ladies in the writer’s room. So it’s positively bizarre to read that Jimmy Fallon’s being sued for sex discrimination… against men. According to TMZ… Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London today on a warrant for sexual assault charges filed by two women in Sweden. He will appear in court later today. Get live updates on the situation here. [via Gawker]

2. Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, and those other… Read More