Jimmy Fallon draws most viewers in over 20 years for The Tonight Show during premiere week as new host

By Daily Mail Reporter

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Jimmy Fallon during his first week as host of The Tonight Show drew the most viewers to the late-night staple since 1993.

The 39-year-old comedian took over The Tonight Show on Feb. 17 following the departure of longtime 63-year-old host Jay Leno.

Fallon got a fast start with his premiere show on Monday pulling in a 7.1 rating, which is equivalent to about 11.3 million viewers.

First show: Jimmy Fallon, shown during his debut as host of The Tonight Show on February 17 with Will Smith, pulled in the show's highest weekly ratings since 1993

First show: Jimmy Fallon, shown during his debut as host of The Tonight Show on February 17 with Will Smith, pulled in the show's highest weekly ratings since 1993

The first show included an appearance by Will Smith, a rooftop performance by U2 and a seemingly never-ending string of celebrity cameos that included Robert De Niro, Mariah Carey, Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Seth Rogen, Mike Tyson and Lady Gaga.

Fallon kept the momentum up during his first week and pulled a nightly average of 8.5 million viewers with guests including Justin Timberlake, Bradley Cooper, Emma Thompson, First Lady Michelle Obama, Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill stopping by.

 

The show's weekly numbers were more than double the prior season-to-date, according to an article on Sunday by The Hollywood Reporter.

Famous friends: Jimmy welcomed fellow former Saturday Night Live comedian Kristen Wiig to his show during the first week

Famous friends: Jimmy welcomed fellow former Saturday Night Live comedian Kristen Wiig to his show during the first week

It also was the most-watched week of The Tonight Show since the Cheers send-off boosted its numbers in 1993.

Fallon - in the highly coveted 18-49 age demographic - averaged a healthy 2.8 rating with a boost on Friday by the appearance of Timberlake.

The Tonight Show scored its best week since 2005 among viewers under age 50.

 
Stream of celebrities: A steady stream of celebrities including Mariah Carey appeared on Jimmy's first show as part of a skit

Stream of celebrities: A steady stream of celebrities including Mariah Carey appeared on Jimmy's first show as part of a skit

Viewers also extended their interest to recordings of the show with Fallon's premiere jumping from a 3.8 rating to a 4.9 rating among adults 18-49 when DVR viewership was taken into account.

With DVR viewership counted, Fallon's premiere was the highest rated Tonight Show since Leno's debut in 1992.

The Tonight Show has been a regular fixture on NBC since 1954 and its longest-running and most famous host was Johnny Carson.

Huge guest: Justin Timberlake helped boost the new show's ratings on Friday when he performed

Huge guest: Justin Timberlake helped boost the new show's ratings on Friday when he performed

The comments below have not been moderated.

Watched him the first night, gave it a pass because it was the first show. Second show, 3 minutes into the monolog, turned it off and turned on Perry Mason. Been watching Perry ever since. :-)

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Love Jimmy. He's super talented.

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I was just a kid when I became a fan of Johnny Carson, it was disgraceful how he was treated by NBC and Jay Leno. Hopefully now Leno feels the same pain that Johnny did. I wish Fallon the best of luck. I stopped watching after Johnny , he was the king of late night.

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What did NBC do to Johnny? Didn't he make the decision to retire?

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Dropped 3 million viewers after the first night. What was the rest of America watching, if only 11 million watched the first night. They even counted those that recorded the show, what this doesn't show is the number of viewers that quit watching the recording a few minutes into his show. The public will only carry him for a while., and then the ride is over. Did ANYBODY find the EW!! skit even remotely funny? Speaking of remote, pass it so I can change the channel

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This is all about politics and the 2014 midterm elections. Leno was #1 in late night ratings and was blasting Obama. We all know NBC is the Obama megaphone. Fallon appeals to a much younger crowd and NBC can more easily control him. They also hope to attract the 100 or so people who still watch Letterman.

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try again after the olympics effect is gone

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Another NYC Liberal with rich family connections. These types just can't let go. Gotta have control.

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Actually, his "great ratings" are because of THE OLYMPICS! Fallon is as funny as a crutch and will fall on his obsequious little democrat-loving-face very shortly. Loser.

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Jay WHO??????

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Sad to read all the hateful comment here. I love Jimmy Fallon and I wish him nothing but success. Just remember all you folks who miss Johnny and Jay : Change is good - embrace it. He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery

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