THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 1768 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actress Jenna Ortega during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Friday, December 16, 2022 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC)
It may not have posted monster, “Wednesday”-esque viewership numbers, but Jenna Ortega’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” debut fared well from a competitive standpoint.
Airing December 16, the episode ranked as the week’s #1 late-night talk show in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, the broadcast garnered 292K viewers in the aforementioned young adult demo. The number was actually down from the prior Friday’s performance, but it still ranked as the week’s best.
In addition to Ortega, the December 16 “Fallon” featured official guests James Corden and Mike Feeney, as well as a surprise appearance by Austin Butler. Corden was actually the lead guest, although the “Tonight Show” team built ample promotion around the episode marking “Wednesday” star Ortega’s debut.
Looking across demos, the December 16 “Fallon” drew a total of 1.676 million viewers. The mark was the second-best for a “Fallon” episode during the December 12-16 string of episodes; the December 13 broadcast with Stanley Tucci, Michael Che, Sean Patton, and Muni Long drew 1.681 million.
— The impact of the December 16 episode was not, moreover, only felt on traditional television. The YouTube clip of Ortega’s visit has already amassed 9 million views, making it the most-watched official “Fallon” clip since Shakira’s TikTok dance challenge in May.
With over 1 million views, Corden’s interview is also performing markedly above the show’s usual average.