When Jimmy Fallon announced Will Smith and U2 as the guests for his Feb. 17 premiere as new host of “The Tonight Show,” he clarified the importance of an opening-night booking, especially for a new talk show.
“It’s very important because obviously your biggest tune-in that you’re going to get on your show is your premiere night,” says Todd Yasui, co-executive producer of “The Queen Latifah Show” and former executive producer of “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn” and talent booker for Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”
“And you’re hoping that first guest sets the tone for what the show’s going to be going forward,” he says.
Previous opening night guests tapped for the high-profile slot have included Billy Crystal (Leno in 1992), Bill Murray (“The Late Show with David Letterman”), Will Ferrell (“The Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien) and Jennifer Aniston (the debut of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 11:35 p.m.).
But Neal Kendall, the former executive producer of “Arsenio” and “Tavis Smiley,” doesn’t think opening-night guests matter much to a show’s long-term success.
“In most cases I think people tune in to see the host,” he says. “In Fallon’s case, I think it’s even more so because of the enormous amount of attention being placed on the transition — it’s ‘The Tonight Show’ and it’s moving back to New York.”
Producers say two things are important when picking who will sit on the couch that first night — name recognition (and likability) and someone who will bring energy to the show. Smith and U2 certainly check both boxes — he’s one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood, with films that have grossed $6.6 billion at the global box office — while U2 has sold more than 150 million records and won 22 Grammys.
The other consideration is finding a guest that will make the host shine in his big debut. It’s a feat not every A-list name can accomplish, but something for which Smith has a reputation.
“He’s probably one of the most well-regarded people in the entertainment industry and he’s also just a hilarious plug and play guy,” Yasui says. “With Will, you know you’re going to get people laughing and he’s going to bring an incredible energy to the show.
“You don’t have to script things, you don’t have to overplan things, he’s actually like the ultimate guest for a talk show.”
“I don’t think you could possibly do any better,” Kendall admits of the Smith-U2 booking. “People would have been tuning in anyway [because] there’s so much interest — but this does make it a bigger event, there’s no doubt about it.
“If there were lesser names, it might not have same magnitude.”
While most viewers won’t remember who a show’s first guest is weeks or months later — unless it goes famously bad, as with Goldie Hawn on 1993’s short-lived “Chevy Chase Show” on Fox — the goal is to book someone with enough relevance and longevity that it can replay with the same effect in the host’s inevitable farewell (as Leno will do with Crystal on his Feb. 6 finale).
“When that premiere guest is chosen, you’re hoping that you’re going to get that iconic moment that 20 years from now you’re going to be able to play back,” Yasui says.
“You’re gonna say man it’s all been great, I’m bookending my career with something great on both ends.”