Jimmy Fallon is reportedly struggling to keep “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on air.
Fallon’s “Tonight Show” has seen continuous plummeting ratings, according to a report published Friday by Page Six. In fact, the ratings have fallen behind Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” for an entire season.
Despite changes made, including bringing in Jim Bell of the “Today” show, ratings have continued to plummet.
Fallon’s executive producer, Katie Hockmeyer, is no longer a part of the “Tonight Show” team but is still employed at NBC. Hockmeyer’s move is reportedly the first of many shakeups for the comedy show. (RELATED: Jimmy Kimmel Signs Deal To Stay At ABC Through 2022)
Ratings for “Tonight Show” began to fall after Fallon’s famous 2016 interview during the presidential campaign with Donald Trump. Fallon was criticized for treating Trump like a celebrity instead of a candidate when he asked if he could touch Trump’s hair.
The backlash from the campaign interview sent Fallon into a depression.
“It was definitely a down time,” Fallon recalled in 2018. “And it’s tough for morale. There [are] 300 people that work here, and so when people are talking that bad about you and ganging up on you, in a really gang mentality … You go, ‘All right, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I’m depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself? What would make you happy? Get over it.’”
Unlike Colbert’s political satire style, Fallon has mostly tried to keep politics out of his comedy show.