The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show currently broadcast from the NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center in New York City, the show's original location, and it has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. It has had several recurring guest hosts including Ernie Kovacs during the Steve Allen era and Joey Bishop, David Letterman, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, and Leno during Johnny Carson's stewardship, although the practice has been abandoned since Carson's departure, with hosts preferring reruns to showcasing potential rivals. The Tonight Show is the world's longest-running talk show and the longest-running, regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States. It is the third-longest-running show on NBC, after the news-and-talk shows Today and Meet the Press. Over the course of more than 60 years, The Tonight Show has undergone only minor title changes.
| Genre | Talk, Variety show |
| Created by | Steve Allen, Dwight Hemion, William O. Harbach, Sylvester "Pat" Weaver |
| Presented by | Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–2014), Conan O'Brien (2009–2010), Jimmy Fallon (2014–present) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 2,000 (before Carson, total), 4,531 (under Carson), 3,775 (under Leno, first tenure), 146 (under O'Brien, 1 unaired), 835 (under Leno, second tenure, 4,610 total), (under Fallon), Total: 12,758 |
| Running time | Varies |
| Production company(s) | NBC Productions (1954–1996), Tonight Show Company, LLC. (1962–1980), Carson Productions (1980–1992), Big Dog Productions (1992–2014), NBC Studios (1996–2004), NBC Universal Television Studio (2004–2007), Universal Media Studios (2007–2011), Universal Television (2011–), Conaco (2009–2010), Broadway Video (2014–) |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white (1954–1960), Color (1960–), 480i (1954–2002), HDTV 1080i (2002–) |
| Preceded by | Broadway Open House (1950–51) |
| Related shows | The Tomorrow Show (1973–81), Late Night (1982–present) |
About The Tonight Show
Long-running late night talk show that features celebrity interviews and musical guests. The show has been hosted by Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, and Jimmy Fallon, amongst others.
Achievement of The Tonight Show
Conan O'Brien hosted the show briefly in 2009 and 2010 before being replaced by Jay Leno. The latest installment of the show with Jimmy Fallon won its first Emmy in 2015.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Category.. The Late Shift, a made-for-cable film about Leno and Letterman's vying for host duties on The Tonight Show.. Burbank, California.. Television franchises.
Latest information about The Tonight Show updated on July 28 2021.
