You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Click here for more information.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” saw a 19% year-over-year increase in total viewers on its first night back following the conclusion of the WGA strike, according to Nielsen ratings.
NBC’s late-night show ultimately came in second in the 18-49 demo behind “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC, whose lead-in from the Seahawks and Giants game may be credited for the ratings boost. NBC’s talk show saw a 0.19 in the demo.
In addition to seeing a year-over-year increase in total viewers, “The Tonight Show” also saw a 16% rise in the demo. Compared to the last new episode of “The Tonight Show,” which premiered on May 1 — the day before the WGA strike started — Monday night’s show saw a 22% increase in total viewers and a 30% increase in the demo.
The series’ return also saw gains on social media. A clip of Matthew McConaughey, Fallon and the series’ house band The Roots turning McConaughey’s children’s book “Just Because” into a song was viewed 5 million times across all social platforms. Fallon’s singing recap of the past five months also garnered 2 million views.
Since late night comedy has been off the air for the last five months, some have wondered if audiences would miss these shows. It’s no secret that the ratings for late night aren’t what they used to be. However, these early metrics for “The Tonight Show” indicate that America missed its late night comedians after all.
Last Tuesday, the WGA and the AMPTP publicly presented a deal between the two organizations, and the WGA announced that writers could return to work. A day later, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert announced in a joint statement that all five of their series would be returning the following week.
HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” was technically the first late-night show to return after the conclusion of the WGA strike, but of the main five late-night hosts, Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” was the first to return Sunday.
For all of TheWrap’s Hollywood strike coverage, click here.
Leave a Reply