The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a two-hour primetime special on NBC. According to Deadline, the news of the special was unveiled during last night’s episode, in which Jimmy Fallon (Band of Brothers, Saturday Night Live) announced that the show had just celebrated its 10th anniversary last week. The 10th anniversary special is set to air on May 14.
“We are so grateful that we get to do this job. I want to thank everyone on our staff and crew and of course all of you for tuning in every single night for the past 10 years to celebrate, really, thank you so much. To celebrate, NBC is going to air a two-hour primetime Best of Tonight Show special on May 14, the best moments of the Tonight Show from the past 10 years featuring some of our favorite sketches, guests and musical performances, from “Tight Pants” with Will Ferrell to me almost dating Nicole Kidman — I still can’t believe that happened — and musical bits like “Classroom Instruments” with Metallica and Adele, we had so many fun moments,” said Fallon during his opening yesterday via Deadline.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon premiered on NBC on February 17, 2014, featuring Roots as the house band. Fallon kicked off the show’s debut by thanking the forerunning men who came before him: Jay Leno (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Cars), Steve Allen (Casino, The Tonight Show), Conan O’Brien (Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Conan), Johnny Carson (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Fargo) and Jack Paar (The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar, Footlight Varieties).
As per Deadline, Fallon’s first guest stars on the show were U2 and Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Men in Black), along with several other surprise celebrity guests such as, Lady Gaga (A Star is Born, House of Gucci), Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express, Superbad), Mike Tyson (The Hangover, Mike Tyson Mysteries), Robert De Niro (Cape Fear, Taxi Driver), Kim Kardashian (Disaster Movie, Keeping Up with the Kardashians), Mariah Carey (Glitter, Precious), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City, The Family Stone), Tina Fey (Baby Mama, 30 Rock) and Rudy Giuliani (Anger Management, The Simpsons).
Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) directed the intro for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which alluded to viewers that the show was back in New York City by having Fallon appear in various New York hotspots, one of which being Katz’s Deli.
Deadline notes that during his first night of hosting, Fallon told his audience in 2014 that it “means a lot to me. I hope I do well. I just want to do the best I can and take care of the show for a while.”
Fallon continued, “Anyone I can make fun of I will … so you go to sleep with a smile on your face and live a longer life.”