Jimmy Fallon To Host The Tonight Show In New York, Jay Leno Already Plotting His Comeback

Well, it looks like it’s actually going to happen, everybody. After months of rumors that Jimmy Fallon would take his clever, Timberlake-loving self over to the 11:35 PM spot to host The Tonight Show on NBC, it’s being confirmed as happening. By big-time TV execs. To The New York Times. One exec actually said “there is no way on earth that this is not going to happen.” It’s expected that Jimmy Fallon will take over by fall of 2014 at the latest.

Until Jay Leno creeps up and steals the show back. Surely you can’t have forgotten what happened the last time a Late Night host, one Conan O’Brien, was promoted to the Tonight Show gig. How at first Leno got his own show in the 10 PM hour even though we all thought he was retired. And how you would only watch it if you forgot to turn the TV off after watching The Office. That’s my memory of the show, anyway. Oh, and then remember how NBC fired Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno happily took his job back? And then how Conan was pushed to TBS, where the only time you watch his show is if you forgot to turn the TV off after watching Family Guy reruns? Again, I can only speak from my own experience.

Yeah, I don’t know about you, but I would like to start some kind of campaign to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I would not be opposed to banishing Jay Leno to one of those local evangelist networks, where he would only be able to broadcast his show between the programs Prayer and More Prayer, This Time Facing the Other Direction. Just an idea, though.

Not only is Jimmy Fallon reportedly taking over the show, but he’ll stay in New York City. Plus, it’s been revealed that he will have a new state-of-the-art studio built for him. Fancy schmancy!

Jay Leno is already showing signs of bitterness in the wake of the news. In his monologue on Monday, he made a St. Patrick’s Day joke calling NBC execs snakes, and then last night he referred to the news that scientists are closer cloning extinct species: “Imagine that. Things that were once thought to be extinct could be brought back from the dead. So there’s hope for NBC. It could turn around.” NBC is very good at making fun of NBC (watch any 30 Rock episode), but when everyone knows the rumors going around about you being replaced, it looks pretty douchey to make those kinds of comments.

Jimmy Fallon also addressed the rumors in a more coy way, making a similar, yet much nicer NBC joke about the network turning the show into a diving competition.

I could not be more thrilled about Fallon 2014.

(Photo: Kyle Blair/WENN.com)