People averse to lameness don't really watch traditional TV anymore. Just ask your local cable provider. To boost their cool points with a dash of sustainability, NBC has partnered with Snapchat for a Tonight Show spin-off exclusive to the growing platform. The short-form series Fallon is part of a larger multi-year partnership that's also set to include similar offshoots from other NBC properties, Varietyreported Thursday.
"This is the first screen to our audience, so it has to be premium," Sean Mills, Snapchat's boss of original content, said of the new Snapchat Shows feature. "When we talk to partners, we say, 'Assume the audience doesn't watch television and never will.'" The first episode of Fallon, featuring frequent Jimmy Fallon collaborator Justin Timberlake, will be made available for 48 hours instead of the usual Snap period of a single day.
Future episodes, Mills said, will likely deviate from the format of the Timberlake-assisted premiere. "The next episode of Fallon will probably be something completely different, based on what Jimmy wants to do creatively," Mills toldVariety, confirming that the longstanding NBC personality is officially locked in for future installments.
Fallon will not, however, follow the daily release strategy of The Voice's Snapchat series. The Tonight Show extension will instead deliver new episodes on a more "occasional" basis. "I think we're being pretty open minded about how it's all going to evolve or work," Mills said Thursday. A similarly formatted Saturday Night Live Snap series is expected to launch soon.
