Jimmy Fallon Pulls May 21 Tonight Show as Jimmy Kimmel Also Clears Way for Colbert Finale
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 12
Jimmy Fallon Pulls May 21 Tonight Show as Jimmy Kimmel Also Clears Way for Colbert Finale
12 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 12
NBC said "The Tonight Show" will skip a new May 21 episode and air a rerun instead, leaving Stephen Colbert's final "Late Show" without direct network competition at that hour.
The move came a day after ABC confirmed Jimmy Kimmel would also run a repeat, with both networks framing the decision as solidarity and a way to avoid pulling viewers from Colbert's sendoff.
Fallon had originally been scheduled to air new that night and will return May 22 with Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Maluma.
CBS announced in July that "The Late Show" would end rather than continue with a new host, calling it a financial decision amid a difficult late-night environment.
Support for Colbert has spread across late night: Kimmel, Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver joined him on May 11, and CBS will replace "The Late Show" with "Comics Unleashed" starting May 22.
If the most-watched late-night show can be canceled, is the traditional TV talk show format officially broken?
What does the success of 'Gutfeld!' signal about the changing tastes of late-night television audiences today?