Lin-Manuel Miranda is set to break a record for Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, depending on how you look at it.
Miranda is scheduled to visit The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight, marking the actor/writer/composer’s 22nd appearance on the show. That puts him one show higher than Fallon’s most frequent guest, Michael Strahan.
Miranda’s accomplishment, however, comes with a caveat. The actor has only served as an official guest on The Tonight Show 16 times. His other five appearances have been cameos—his first of which came in March 2015, before he’d ever been a proper guest. His most recent cameo came in 2020.
Miranda last sat for an interview with Fallon last December, ahead of the duo appearing on Broadway together in Simon Rich’s play All In.
Unlike Miranda, all of Strahan’s appearances on Fallon’s show have been as official guest spots. Strahan was the first guest to reach the 20-show milestone last September, which Fallon celebrated by presenting him with his own NBC ID badge. Strahan then broke that record with another appearance in March.
Ahead of tonight’s appearance, Miranda’s current grand total of 21 Tonight Show appearances also ties him with Will Ferrell, who has made 13 formal guest appearances and eight additional cameos. Not far behind them are Miley Cyrus and Meghan Trainor, both of whom have showed up on Fallon’s show 19 times over the years.
Miranda was last seen in late night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert two weeks ago, when he appeared in a segment alongside a supergroup of late-night hosts (including Fallon) as a show of solidarity for Stephen Colbert.
Tonight’s Tonight Show will also feature The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper and music from Chance the Rapper.
