The sketches feature host Jimmy Fallon, house band The Roots, announcer/sidekick Steve Higgins, the show's writers, celebrity guests, and audience members.
The notes are sarcastic in tone and involve current events, people in the news, or things that annoy Jimmy (e.g. "Thank you, pony tails, for turning the backs of girls' heads into horses' butts").
[14] The show's longest-running musical sketch, Jimmy joins his house band, The Roots, to serenade the audience on a topic of current newsworthy significance in the style of a slow jam.
So far the songs have been Snoop Dogg's part of "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", Warren G's "Regulate", Ice Cube's part of "Straight Outta Compton", Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations", The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (which featured a verse by Lester Holt), Young MC's "Bust a Move", Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice", and Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back".
The new lyrics inevitably rely on repetitive stanzas, such as Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" (which is devoted almost entirely to a woman from the original lyrics who is described as liking horses),[17] The Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun" (where most of its lyrics are centered upon a hamburger stand, and eventually consist entirely of the word "hamburger"),[18][19] The Guess Who's "American Woman" (which had stanzas about an "Australian Lawyer" and "Canadian Dentist"),[20] ZZ Top's "Legs" (which had stanzas regarding other body parts and also featured an appearance by Chris Stapleton),[21] and The Kinks' "Lola" (which contains repeated references to other words that sound like or rhyme with "Lola", and Fallon—portraying Ray Davies—repeatedly misspelling the word "doughnut").
In each instance of the sketch, a different set of bizarre complications ensue, involving Jimmy in outlandish situations (such as the accidental death of a co-worker and their attempts to hide the body because the graphic artist is on parole didn't want to go back to prison for her murder; although at the end she was only unconscious) which push the actual "Head Swap" to a secondary issue.
Jimmy shows a clip from a late-night Tennis Channel show starring Roger Federer (played by Jimmy) called At the Bar with Roger Federer, where the tennis star hangs out in a bar and does strange things, including performing yo-yo tricks, identifying objects (incorrectly) by smell, and discussing his love/hate relationship with his good friend but fierce competitor Rafael Nadal.
Jimmy reviews several terrible (real) books (such as How to Avoid Huge Ships: Second Edition, Castration: The Advantages and the Disadvantages, Cooking With [Winnie the] Pooh, and Knitting With Dog Hair) and suggests people not read them.
[24] Jimmy plays British TV show host Peggy Hess, who presents a series of clips of celebrities making small-talk at functions where they are not hooked up to microphones.
[26] Jimmy claims Facebook started their own newspaper and reads headlines from it, which are usually about the people on it (e.g. "Lonely Stay-at-Home Mom Won't Stop Posting About How Hot Adam Levine Is".
[28] Around the release of a highly anticipated movie or TV program, Jimmy would send a correspondent down to get people's thoughts and opinions and see if they notice that he is mispronouncing the title while asking them questions (e.g.
Jokes would be based on current news and rhyme (e.g. "Good night woman who gave birth at Taco Bell, your baby's first words will be 'Hard or soft shell?'").
[37] Jimmy dons a cowboy hat and flannel shirt, chews on a piece of straw, and in an old west-style accent criticizes and tells things he dislikes to "go on, git!
"[38] Although usually done solo at his desk, Jimmy has occasionally teamed with a guest on the segment (e.g. Steve Carell in June 2022) as they sit in rocking chairs on a set resembling a rustic country porch.
[39] Close to the 2020 United States presidential election, Jimmy shows a usually funny clip of President Trump that sums up why he deserves a second term.
When Jimmy talks about a recently finished episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, while describing an emotional scene, he rolls the clip of it, but the characters are voiced with Apple's Siri.
Similar to Battle of the Instant Bands, Jimmy selects three singer/songwriters from the audience and has them write a short song based on a different nonsensical phrase like "turtle sunrise" or "clouds are people too".
Three blindfolded audience members attempt to break ball-shaped piñatas with smiley faces on them (which "bear a striking resemblance to celebrities in the news") rotating around them using only karate kicks.
Guest players have included Tina Fey (October, 2012),[44] Jennifer Aniston, Melissa McCarthy,[45] Lenny Kravitz, CeeLo Green, Katie Couric,[46] and many others.
Notable celebrities joined include Hugh Jackman, Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Harvey, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (as the cast of Grace and Frankie and, most lately, Keke Palmer.
Notable competitors joining the game include Seth Meyers and Cobie Smulders (October 2021), Will Smith (December 2015), Evan Rachel Wood (June 2022) and John Krasinski (July 2022).
Jimmy plays the popular drinking game beer pong with a celebrity guest, those including Serena Williams, Ivanka Trump, Betty White, and John McEnroe.
Fallon commented on the absurdity of Kelly's father losing his job at a weapons plant because "world peace had broken out", and also pointed out that the year 2009 is the twentieth anniversary of Saved by the Bell.
In February 2015, the Saved by the Bell cast was finally reunited (excluding Dustin Diamond and Lark Voorhies) and reprised their roles for a sketch which had Jimmy as a new student at Bayside High, and revealed Zack Morris had impregnated Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen is pregnant in real-life).
Jimmy and a celebrity guest take turns trying to make three-point shots on a basketball goal using objects like a telephone or a bowl of Count Chocula cereal.
He has played with Jason Statham, Christopher Meloni, Chris Kattan, Ashton Kutcher, Hugh Jackman, Jon Hamm, Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds, and Lindsay Lohan, among others.
[59] While Jimmy and his guest sit on stools at a small, high table, Steve Higgins presents the egg carton with humorous but ominous remarks while explaining the rules.
Guest players have included Jason Sudeikis (November 2012),[60] David Duchovny (January 2013),[61] Joel McHale (February 2013),[62] Tom Cruise (April 2013),[63][64] Seth Meyers (August 2013),[65] and Edward Norton (October 2013).
Whenever Justin Timberlake appears on the show, he and Jimmy perform a medley of popular hip-hop and rap songs from a 30-year span in (roughly) chronological order.
In the theme park attraction Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, the Golden Retriever puppies make an appearance, carried inside a basket by Sara's stepdad, Gary.