The Tonight Show aired one episode after Sunday Night Football last year, and the results must have been good enough for NBC to quadruple-down on it. The show will air on September 21 after the Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Giants, October 26 after the Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, November 16 after the Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles, and December 7 after the Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs. (Two of those being Chiefs games, it would seem Fallon—who hangs out with Taylor Swift socially—is hoping to cash in on the Swift/Travis Kelce effect, as is American Eagle, the NFL itself, and pretty much any other brand you can think of.)
The L.A. Times notes that The Tonight Show “will aim to book high-profile guests” for these special episodes. Only one lineup, for the September 21 show, has yet been announced; that night’s guests will be Matthew McConaughey and country singer Eric Church, which… okay! McConaughey is an Oscar-winning A-list actor, sure, but a Fallon-McConaughey interview doesn’t necessarily qualify as Must See TV. We suppose those guests represent NBC’s best guess at what the football audience would want to keep their televisions on for—masculine, heterosexual, and, like Fallon himself, apolitically bland enough to appeal to a wide (and increasingly conservative) audience. We’ll see what “high profile” guests they come up with for the other specials.
“Teaming up with NBC Sports for these Sunday night episodes is always a highlight for us,” Tonight Show showrunner Chris Miller said in a statement. “We’ve always loved leaning into sports and are excited to be a part of Sunday Night Football again this season.”
