At a time when the future of late-night is very much up in the air, NBC is showing a major sign of support for its longest-running late-night show.
In an effort to help the show’s viewership totals, NBC has arranged for The Tonight Show to air new episodes following its most-watched program: Sunday Night Football. These special events will air on Sunday night following the conclusion of select games and local newscasts, a move that will put Fallon before a wide audience and give him the chance to draw up additional buzz for his regularly scheduled weekday episodes.
This move will also surely help to boost its overall ratings during the final quarters of the year, as the last time NBC aired a special post-NFL edition of The Tonight Show last season, it pulled in its best ratings of the entire year. At a time when late-night ratings are a topic of much discussion, it’s promising to see NBC betting big on the show by setting it up for what are sure to be a string of highly watched specials.
So, just when can fans expect these special broadcasts to air?
Interestingly, NBC will be spacing the specials out rather than airing them in back–to-back weeks. The first of the four specials will air on Sept. 21, following the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants game. As one of the Chiefs’ first primetime games of the season, the episode is expected to bring in major ratings, especially considering it will be the team’s first Sunday Night Football appearance since Travis Kelce’s engagement to Taylor Swift.
A month later, fans will get another Tonight Show special on Oct. 26 following the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers game, a game which will see Aaron Rodgers facing off against his former team in primetime. The third special is slated for Nov. 16, following a showdown between the reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions. And finally, we’ll see another post-Chiefs game special on Dec. 7 after the Chiefs take on the Houston Texans.
NBC is said to be eyeing high-profile guests for the special episodes, with Matthew McConaughey and Eric Church already lined up for the first of the four specials. Future guests will be announced at a later date.
It'll be interesting to see who rounds out the guest list for these special episodes and to see how the episodes end up faring in the ratings. Regardless of how the episodes perform, it's a major sign of support from NBC that they're willing to bet on The Tonight Show with these special Sunday night editions of the show following several high-profile Sunday Night Football Games.