Jimmy Fallon's debut as the host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" on Monday wracked in more than 11 million viewers, the biggest audience for any debut show in the last five years.
Despite this obvious success, the number nevertheless fell several million short of the "The Tonight Show's" all-time record of 14.6 million, which occurred the day Jay Leno bid farewell to the show Feb. 6.
Fallon started his show by explaining his own history, the evolution of the show, expressing his gratitude to Leno and introducing his parents, who were there in the audience. With a tremor in his voice, Fallon said, "There's going to be a kid out there, asking his parents to stay up late to watch me." Recalling how he once asked his parent to let him stay up to watch David Letterman and Johnny Carson, he said: "It means a lot to me and I hope I do well."
NBC announced April 3, 2013 that Fallon would step into the very big shoes of Leno. Unlike Conan O'Brien, whose tenure at "The Tonight Show" was very brief, Fallon not only appealed to the millions of young viewers, but ensured that those who were loyal to Leno would stay awake to watch his show.
Apart from the presence and participation of celebrities like Robert De Niro, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Rudolph Giuliani, Tina Fey, Lindsay Lohan, Joe Namath and many others, Monday's show also saw the return of Joan Rivers, who had been in exile for supposedly offending Johnny Carson.
One highlight of Monday's opening show was the two-song performance by U2 on the rooftop of the Rockefeller Center, as the camera panned a nighttime view of New York City.
"This isn't Conan 2.0," an executive of a rival show told New York Daily News. "He has the broad appeal 'Tonight' has always had and needed."
