Seth Meyers Replaces Fallon On ‘Late Night’ In Try For Younger Audience [Video]

Seth Meyers will replace Jimmy Fallon as the new host of Late Night in 2014. Fallon himself will be moving on to take Jay Leno’s slot on the Tonight Show. The choice of Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” anchor Meyers seems like a safe, conservative pick that has been floating around the rumor mill for awhile.

Long-time executive SNL producer Lorne Michaels will take the same job with Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Although the exact time and date hasn’t been announced, CNN is reporting that the game of musical chairs will likely occur around the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics coverage. That’s when Leno will bow out, Fallon will move to Tonight, and Meyers will begin at Late Night.

NBC hasn’t said when Meyers will actually depart SNL, where he’s a key employee, since he has served as the head writer in addition to the “Weekend Update” anchor.

When Seth Meyers replaces Fallon, he will join top names like David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, popular comedians who both held the Late Night chair before Jimmy Fallon.

While the Seth Meyers announcement was expected for some time, The Washington Post offered their theory on why the news was held until Sunday afternoon. The struggling network canceled a large number of failed series on Friday. As WP described it, NBC axed “virtually all of this season’s primetime series in comedy – a genre in which the network was once considered the gold standard – as well as several big-ticket dramas including Smash.”

By confirming the Seth Meyers rumors, NBC hoped to attract some positive publicity to offset snide comments like NBC is “mowing down virtually its entire comedy lineup.”

Do you think the pick is a little too safe? Will you be watching when Seth Meyers replaces Fallon?

[Seth Meyers photo by Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com]