The Muppets Help Jimmy Fallon Say Goodbye to Late Night
Jimmy Fallon got all of the emotional stuff out of the way early on last night’s final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. So unlike Jay Leno, who saved his tearful goodbye for the end of his final show Thursday, Fallon was able end his Friday night on a forward-looking, hopeful note… with a little help from The Muppets.
Fallon’s musical parodies have skewed in the direction of the ridiculous, from his Neil Young and the real Bruce Springsteen singing Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” to his Jim Morrison rocking out the “Reading Rainbow.” But last night, it was pure Fallon singing the first verse of The Band’s classic song “The Weight.” Even when various Muppets joined in for later verses, there was a surprising sincerity to the whole thing.
But the more surprisingly sentimental moment came when Fallon walked out from behind the drums, down the hall and into a door marked “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon,” where he was greeted with celebration by his writers and The Roots.
Fallon’s farewell show, which aired at a slightly earlier time (12:05am) following the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony on NBC, drew the host’s largest audience (in metered-market households) since his debut on March 2nd, 2009 with 6.6 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demo.
Now, all eyes will be on February 17th, when Fallon will officially debut as host of the Tonight Show.
Watch video below, via NBC:
And watch the truly incredible version of “The Weight” from The Last Waltz
[photo via screengrab]
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