Is Jimmy Fallon On Fast Track To Replace Leno?

There’s word that NBC brass are ruminating over Jay Leno’s future — which would involve finally giving their current late-late guy comic, Jimmy Fallon, the coveted job as the host of "The Tonight Show."

The latest rumblings about Leno come from various talent agents who admit they have quietly been contacted by NBC officials hoping to find a new late-late host who will eventually take over Fallon’s 12:35 a.m. time slot.

Leno’s current $15 million a year deal expires in 2014, and came about after he “volunteered” to take a 50% pay cut earlier this year, a move that helped NBC slash "The Tonight Show’s" $100 million budget by about 20%.

But Don Kaplan at NYDailyNews says his money is on how NBC brass are betting it’s high time they cash in on a generational shift toward younger viewers that has been going on in late-night television for some time.

ABC will be the first to capitalize on the shift next month when their own late-late guy, Jimmy Kimmel, moves his show to 11:35 p.m., switching places with “Nightline” in a bid to boost the network’s percentage of viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 — a group prized by advertisers.

It doesn’t hurt at all that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is an entertainment program headed by a star 20 years younger than his new time slot rivals, Letterman and Leno.

Meanwhile, at CBS, Leno’s nemesis, David Letterman, is also under contract until 2014, and there has been a long unsaid understanding throughout the TV industry that Leno won’t step down until Dave does.

Of course, as these rumblings may prove, Jay could always be pushed — but he’s proven over the years that he’s harder to kill than Dracula.

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