For the last five years, Jimmy Fallon hosted the Late Night show on NBC but now that has come to an end. Fallon will take over for a retiring Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. Although Fallon had not been the show's host for long, the comedian's departure is part of a greater shift in late night TV comedy and will open opportunities for others as he leaves his seat at Late Night.

Replacing Leno is no easy feat. The comedian had hosted The Tonight Show for over 22 years, leaving Fallon some really big shoes to fill, but NBC believes it is making a smart decision. The San Francisco Gate explains that Fallon's SNL recognition will attract younger viewers but will not alienate the older audience base, which has followed Leno for many years. 

Last Friday night was Fallon's last night as host of Late Night and he celebrated it with the Muppets. Before he begins his new job he will take a 10-day hiatus before taking over The Tonight Showon Feb. 17 with U2 and Will Smith as guests. It is reported that Fallon will take his house band, The Roots, and his announcer Steve Higgins to The Tonight Show.  

To fill the vacancy created by Fallon's departure, NBC tapped Seth Meyers as new host. The former SNL comedian and head writer will leave the show after 12 seasons. Another younger comedian and SNL alumnus, the choice reinforces NBC's decision for an upgrade. Yet, as Yahoo TV points out, who will replace Meyers in his Weekend Update skit, and will Late Night's format change?

Meyers already answered some of these questions, explaining that there will be topical references and perhaps some more sketch comedy aspects. Yet, with The Tonight Show moving to the East Coast, Meyers might have trouble finding guests. He said, "There is a chance that with bookings, we're going to have to try to find people that we find interesting more than maybe [guests] people are clamoring to see. But that's something we look forward to doing, which is find the sorts of guests who can maybe come back once a month."  

Audiences will decide how Meyers fills Fallon's place on Feb. 24 when Late Night returns.