Jimmy Fallon is going live tonight to serve as a "debate palate cleanser"

The New York Times

The two-night Democratic presidential debate kicking off tonight will mark a number of late-night firsts. "For the first time, The Tonight Show will go live in its entirety after a major political event," reports John Koblin. “The Daily Show will go live for two consecutive nights for the first time. And in what is believed to be a first, two 11:30 p.m. network late shows — Jimmy Fallon’s on NBC and Stephen Colbert’s on CBS — will go head-to-head live for a full hour. Seth Meyers’s hourlong 12:30 a.m. show will also be live both nights, allowing on-air jokes and jabs to continue into the wee hours." Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with James Corden are in reruns this week. “That’s the urgency that this event calls for,” says Jim Bell, the former Today boss who has led The Tonight Show as its executive producer since last October. “And that is rather striking that’s where we are in 2019 compared to previous election cycles.” Bell says Fallon's monologues tonight and Thursday will react to the debates, but that overall the show will “give people a chance to take a most welcome break from the madness of politics.” Bell adds: “We have Nicki Minaj booked for Thursday. I can think of no better debate palate cleanser.”