NBC did a great job with their Paris Olympics coverage in 2024. The Gold Zone was a hit on Peacock. Snoop Dogg was a fun addition. And the overall reaction to the games was positive after years of declining interest in the games. But one element that left a lot to be desired was Jimmy Fallon joining Mike Tirico for coverage of the Olympics closing ceremony.
Fallon dominated the broadcast with his trademark manic style and plenty of jokes. But viewers ended up reaching for the mute button.
Well, now we know that folks watching at home weren’t the only ones that thought Fallon was doing way too much talking. So did his NBC broadcast partner Mike Tirico. And that’s according to the late night host himself.
In an interview with Jason Bateman on The Tonight Show, Fallon told a story from broadcasting at the Olympics where the esteemed NBC primetime host tried to get him to calm down while on the air.
“I got to be a commentator at the Olympics last year in Paris. Mike Tirico got me on there and I talked too much and sounded like an idiot,” Fallon said. “I wanted to fill the air, I’m like, ‘Mike, they’re swimming in the pool. And they’re swimming.”
“He actually grabbed my hand at one point, like stop talking,” he added. “He grabbed my hand, like ‘chill out dude.'”
Jimmy Fallon admitted he wanted to fill dead air, which probably shows the perils of parachuting a late-night comedian into something like an Olympic ceremony. The Olympics often blurs the lines between sports, pop culture, and human interest stories but it takes a special kind of talent to navigate all of those areas in a coherent manner.
In spite of what you think of Fallon as a late-night host or television personality, he still has his job and is actively on the air for the moment, unlike his other contemporaries.
About Matt Yoder