Covid hits late-night TV as Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon test positive
New York, New York - Both of NBC’s late-night TV hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, have tested positive for Covid-19 as the Omicron variant continues to spread across New York.
On Monday, Fallon announced via Instagram that he tested positive for the coronavirus "on the first day of our holiday break."
The next day, Meyers confirmed that he, too, had contracted the respiratory illness.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers are both taped at New York City’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
According to his Instagram post, Fallon appears to have already recovered from his bout with Covid-19. The comedian said he experienced "mild symptoms" after receiving his Covid-19 vaccine and booster shot.
"Thank you to the doctors and nurses who work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed," he captioned the photo of himself wearing a surgical mask in a glass office.
"Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job - and also thanks for putting me in the 'What ‘chu talkin’ about Willis?' isolation room when they told me the news." The room's quote is a reference to the hit NBC sitcom, Different Strokes.
Meyers, on the other hand, seems to have been more recently diagnosed and has canceled Late Night for the rest of the week while he recovers.
Seth Meyers confirmed the rest of this week's shows would be cancelled
Meyes took to Twitter early on Tuesday to share the news.
"The bad news is, I tested positive for Covid (thanks, 2022!) the good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!)," he tweeted. "Tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!"
On Monday’s installment of Late Night, the cast of NBC’s This Is Us and singer David Byrne chatted remotely via video with Meyers, who was in the studio.
Other celebrity guests originally set to appear on Late Night this week were Paul Giamatti, Stacey Abrams, Jamie Demetriou, Michael C Hall, Margaret Qualley, Benson Boone, Judi Dench, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show was also filmed in studio, as usual, and featured a mix of remote and in-person appearances from Anthony Anderson, Adam Devine, and Carly Pearce.
Fallon’s upcoming guests include Milo Ventimiglia, Sabrina Carpenter, Cate Blanchett, Nate Bargatze, Kenan Thompson, Elle Fanning, JB Smoove, and the cast of Queer Eye.
News of Fallon and Meyers testing positive comes on the heels of another TV personality, Whoopi Goldberg, contracting a breakthrough case of Covid-19. The co-host of The View missed Monday’s show as she dealt with "very, very mild" symptoms. Fellow panelist Joy Behar predicted Goldberg would return "probably next week."
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire & Everett Collection