NBC suspends production on Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers' late-night shows amid coronavirus fears

The New York Times

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers have suspended  production, "making them the biggest daily American television series to go dark because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic," according to The New York Times. Both shows were already scheduled to take the week after next (the week of March 23) off. So the earliest The Tonight Show and Late Night could come back is Monday, March 30. NBC's other New York-based late-night show, Saturday Night Live, is on a break until the March 28 episode scheduled to be hosted by John Krasinski. "The news was a reversal from Wednesday, when all the late-night shows that are based in New York — not only NBC’s pair but also Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS and Trevor Noah’s on Comedy Central — said they would broadcast without studio audiences starting next week," reports The Times' John Koblin. "NBC’s decision could raise pressure on other talk shows to follow suit. With more and more Americans being directed to stay home, television, particularly daily talk shows, could become a key source of entertainment and comfort during the pandemic. On the other hand, producers and executives need to balance that imperative with the well-being of their staffs." Fallon taped a new episode Thursday without a live audience, while Meyers' Late Night has scheduled a rerun for tonight.

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• Seth Meyers taped a coronavirus-themed "Closer Look" segment after tonight's Late Night was canceled: Meyers says Thursday's guests canceled, prompting the cancelation of tonight's Late Night. But they decided to film the "Closer Look" segment anyway with Meyers dressed like it's "casual Friday." "We had already written a 'Closer Look' last night before our show was canceled today, so we decided to just film it on our set with a few people and put it online," tweeted Late Night "Closer Look" writer Sal Gentile. "It was very fun and cathartic and I hope you enjoy it at home. Stay safe!" In a separate tweet, he added: "also you get a little peek behind the curtain because normally we would have cut and/or rewritten some of these jokes before the show but today we didn’t have time! So enjoy a very dumb play on words involving the game Mahjong #YourJongOrMahJong."
• Seth Meyers appeared on Thursday's Desus & Mero: "We filmed this a few weeks ago lest anyone think I bailed on my show to hang with @SHODesusAndMero," Meyers explained. "I mean, I WOULD have, but I didn’t."