Late night shows adjust filming in response to COVID-19 Jimmy Fallon records “The Tonight Show” from home

Adam Zerman, Herald Contributor

With major changes around the world due to the Coronavirus, many things are being affected. Television shows fall into that category. Many TV shows that are not pre-shot months before they air are struggling to film and in some cases have gone dark, as they are completely unable to continue filming. Talk shows also seem to be struggling more than most, since they usually need an audience in order to film but are unable to supply one. This includes all late-night shows, which are all currently on hiatus and are showing past episodes instead of the new episodes they would film earlier in the day.

 Jimmy Fallon, host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC, has found a new way to bring the show to his fans. Over the past week, Fallon has been recording his show from his house where he is isolated with his family and has been uploading these videos to YouTube. He features his kids as his “band” to replace The Roots, while his wife films and plays the role of the announcer to replace Steve Higgins. 

Fallon has done bits such as his famous Thank You Notes and he even performs monologues at the beginning of his segments. Each night, he video chats celebrity friends who act as his guests. So far, his guests include Lin Manuel Miranda, Trevor Noah and J Balvin. He even got Miranda to perform “Dear Theodosia” from his hit musical “Hamilton” over video chat. 

Fallon is not just using this to give his audience entertainment. He is choosing a charity every night and using each show as a fundraiser for which viewers can donate to that specific night’s charity. Along with Fallon, Steven Colbert has been filming from his home and has been uploading videos to The Late Show’s YouTube channel. So, if you get a chance, check out The Tonight Show: At Home Edition online.