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NBC on Sunday officially named Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers as the next host of Late Night, taking over for Jimmy Fallon
when he moves to The Tonight Show in
2014.
Lorne Michaels will executive produce Late Night under Meyers with Michael Shoemaker remaining as
producer. Michaels is also set to become executive producer of The Tonight Show
when it moves to New York under Fallon next year, giving him control of two
hours of the network's late night lineup, in addition to SNL.
"We think Seth is one of the brightest, most insightful
comedy writers and performers of his generation. His years at SNL's ‘Weekend Update' desk, not to
mention being head writer of the show for many seasons, helped him hone a
topical brand of comedy that is perfect for the Late Night franchise," said NBC Entertainment chairman Bob
Greenblatt. "On behalf of Steve Burke, Ted Harbert and Paul Telegdy, we
couldn't be happier that Seth and Jimmy Fallon will be continuing their careers
at NBC after growing up in this network's late night legacy."
Under Meyers, Late
Night will continue to originate from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York with
its premiere date to be announced at a later date. Fallon is set to take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in spring
2014,
timed to NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics. Assuming Fallon would want to
take some time to prepare for the transition, a Meyers-hosted Late Night could premiere weeks or
months earlier, as in the last transition from Conan O'Brien to Fallon.
Meyers has been a cast member of SNL for 12 seasons, including eight as head writer and seven as
anchor of Weekend Update. He has hosted two ESPY Awards and headlined the 2011
White House Correspondents Association Dinner.
Last summer, he was among the final three guest-hosts when
Disney-ABC was searching for a replacement for Regis Philbin on Live! With Kelly. That job eventually
went to Michael Strahan.
