E! UK has taken the rights to the NBC late night talker The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon after striking a deal with sister company NBCUniversal International Distribution, TVWise has learned.
The Tonight Show has been airing continuously in the United States, albeit with different hosts, for six decades. The latest iteration is fronted by Fallon and offers an hour full of unexpected, innovative comedy with celebrity guests and creative music-oriented bits.
The talker consistently ranks as the number one late night series beating both Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. E! UK plans to fast-track the series and will air episodes within 24 hours of the US broadcast. The premiere is set for Tuesday November 1st at 10pm, with new episodes airing Tuesday through Saturday in the same time-slot.
“Talk about a pop culture powerhouse!” said Colin McLeod, Managing Director of NBCUniversal International Networks for the U.K. & Emerging Markets. “I’m delighted to be able to add the U.S.’s #1 late-night talk show to E! U.K.’s nightly line-up. Jimmy promises a whole new level of entertainment for our E! audience with his A-list guest list and unique dose of fun, every single episode.”
E! UK is the exclusive UK home to a vast array of unscripted/reality programs from a number of NBCU’s US networks, including its namesake and Bravo. The channel is also home to a lone scripted series, Mark Schwahn’s The Royals, which is produced for the US E! network and is set to return for its ten episode third season later this year.
