Saying he wants Jimmy Fallon to "work out as many of the rough spots in his presentation as possible in performances on a website," executive producer Lorne Michaels announced Fallon will host an online edition of "Late Night." Michaels added the decision hasn't been made yet as to which online venue the online Late Night will be placed.
Fallon is replacing Conan O'Brien on Late Night, after O'Brien leaves to work the "Tonight" show when Jay Leno leaves next year.
In an experimental attempt to see if an online audience can be socialized into gravitating from a fixed time on the Internet, to the same time on TV, Michaels said the show would be available online 12:30 every night. Appointment Internet show to appointment TV. That'll be interesting.
For Fallon, he'll probably be online every night so he can get used to the rhythm of hosting a nightly show.
The show is tentatively set to launch online in the fall, while the television version is set for the spring of 2009.
Those watching shouldn't expect something too much different from what they see on TV, as they don't want to stretch things too far and then have a let down when it migrates to TV. It'll probably push the envelope a little, but not too much.
Online "Late Night" will air for about 5 to 10 minutes.
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