Leno, Fallon Take Swipes at NBC Late Night Shuffle

This week, The New York Times reported that the NBC network has begun implementing a plan to bring THE TONIGHT SHOW back to its original home, New York City, with Jimmy Fallon officially taking the reins from Leno, who hosts from Burbank, CA. The publication also confirmed that execs were gutting a studio within 30 Rockefeller Plaza, prepping and updating it to welcome Fallon - and TONIGHT - as early as the fall of 2014.

The rumors have prompted both Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon to use their monologues as a means to express their feelings on the possible late night shuffle. On last night's show, Leno quipped, "Scientists say they're getting closer and closer to being able to do 'Jurassic Park'-style cloning on extinct species -- things once thought to be extinct could now be brought back from the dead," he said. "So, there's hope for NBC. It could turn around."

On Monday, he compared NBC executives to snakes in a holiday-themed St. Patrick's Day joke.
"You know the whole legend of St. Patrick, right?" Leno said. "St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, and then they came into the United States and became NBC executives."

For his part, Fallon acknowledged the late night wars in his monologue last night joking, "Before we get started, I have to talk about the rumors that came out today which say that I'll be moving up to 11:30 -- or as my parents call it, 'eh, it's still too late,'" he joked. "The rumors are true -- NBC is turning 'The Tonight Show' into a diving competition," referring to the huge success of ABC's latest Reality Show 'Splash.'

Though Leno remains competitve in the ratings, Jimmy Kimmel has been beating him in the all-important 18-49 demographic. "Kimmel has done extremely well," says a network source, adding, "Jay wins overall, but on any given night, it's neck-and-neck in 18-49. I understand where they might have fear and also feel that they own the solution [in Fallon.]"

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