The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
NBC | Release Date: May 25, 1992
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Hollywood ReporterRandee Dawn
Season 18 Review: Leno himself? Comfortable and comforting, enthusiastic but not too much so, apparently ready to just get back to the job of making middle-of-the-road laughs. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 18 Review: Leno did the show last night exactly the same way he does every show. He knows how to tell jokes and he can make his way through an interview. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 18 Review: The first covering the initial 30 minutes was the one to pay attention to. It had no guests and featured Leno and his staff --and it was lame, tame and tepid. The second was all guests--and it had energy if nothing else. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. Perigard
Season 18 Review: He seemed nervous in a rapid-fire monologue that took shots at Dick Cheney, Alan Greenspan and Tiger Woods. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara
Season 18 Review: Leno's got his desk, he's got his guests and no one expects him to do anything but what he's done for so many years: protect the "Tonight Show" franchise. After all that has happened, that may or may not be enough. Read full review
50
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 18 Review: It was the usual schtick from Leno--which is probably just what his fans wanted to hear after he'd been out of late night for a year and off TV altogether for weeks--with jokes about the Olympics, Dick Cheney, and, of course, the flagging fortunes of the network he's on. Read full review
42
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 18 Review: It was back to what could largely have been a Leno monologue from before The Jay Leno Show, right down to a set of jokes about the previous Presidential administration. Read full review
40
Washington PostHank Stuever
Season 18 Review: In the end, Leno is talented in the most mediocre of ways, and this gives viewers great comfort....There was nothing new, but there was a very happy man on stage. Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 18 Review: Monday's opening monologue, supposedly Leno's strong suit, was tired, lame and unfunny. In other words, typical of the real Leno, rather than the Leno of public-relations imagination. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL