First on LateNighter: Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular walloped the competition Wednesday night, with The Tonight Show host’s primetime special coming in first in its timeslot in both key measures.
In fact, among advertiser-coveted viewers aged 18-49, Fallon’s special drew more viewers than the programming on ABC and CBS combined.
All told, Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular was viewed by an audience of 3,843,000. That’s according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings data.
Viewer numbers are likely to grow substantially over the coming days as delayed and online viewing data comes in.
Featuring music from his new holiday album, Holiday Seasoning, Fallon’s one-hour special featured a stacked guest list that included his best bro Justin Timberlake, Jonas Brothers, Mariah Carey, J.B. Smoove, Meghan Trainor, Cara Delevingne, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and, of course, The Roots.
On Thursday night’s Tonight Show, the host thanked fans for tuning into the special, saying he’s “very proud” of it. He also shared a series of online reviews, commenting that the best review he got was “from a parent who said that their kid loved it.”
“That really meant a lot to me,” he added. “Because I remember growing up and listening to comedy songs and records and watching weird things, and that inspired me to be a comedian and to be who I am.”
“So I hope there’s some kid out there who will get that confidence and be weird and write funny songs, and make people laugh and make people happy. Because that’s what the holiday season is all about.”
The reviews are in for Jimmy’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular 😅 and Jimmy teases the deluxe edition of his album including new songs with @lang_lang, @llcoolj, and more! #FallonTonight #HolidaySeasoning pic.twitter.com/ZAJfbfYw1h
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) December 6, 2024
Fallon’s love of the holidays is well documented. The host pulls out all the stops for the season with various holiday bits on The Tonight Show, and did the same on Late Night and Saturday Night Live. Together with Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan, and Horatio Sanz, Fallon made it a tradition over several years to perform the original Christmas song he co-wrote with Sanz, “I Wish It Was Christmas Today.”
In 2020, he released a children’s book called 5 More Sleeps ’til Christmas, which this year begat a Halloween-themed spinoff titled 5 More Sleeps ’til Halloween.
Fallon’s new record is packed with 16 original holiday songs, including the three previously released singles “Almost Too Early For Christmas” with Dolly Parton, “It Was A…(Masked Christmas)” with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion, and “Wrap Me Up” with Meghan Trainor.
Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular was produced by Jesse Collins, whose past producing credits include The Oscars, The Grammys, the Emmys, and the Super Bowl Halftime special. It’s available for streaming on Peacock.
Ratings Data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
