Ratings: Fallon's Tonight Show Debut Matches Conan's, Draws Smaller Crowd Than Leno Finale

The premiere of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon showed some pop (and lock) in the wake of so much pomp and circumstance, scoring 11.3 million total viewers and a 3.8 demo rating laaate on Monday night.

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That total audience represents The Tonight Show‘s second-largest draw since May 29, 2009 (aka Jay Leno’s first send-off, which did 11.9 mil), trailing only The Chin’s second see-ya this Feb. 6 (which drew 14.6 mil, also leading out of Olympics coverage).

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The demo rating, meanwhile, matches both Leno’s recent arrivederci and Conan O’Brien’s own debut as Tonight Show host, making it the highest-rated Tonight Show since Conan’s Jan. 2010 send-off (which notched a 4.4).

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Versus Fallon’s Late Night finale, the audience and demo surged some 70 percent. TVLine readers gave the premiere an average grade of “B+.”