In this image released by NBC, Olympic Gold Medalist skier Lindsey Vonn, left, is shown during an interview with host Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Monday, March 1, 2010.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno led the 11:35 p.m. Eastern time slot with 6.6 million viewers, beating ABC rival Nightline, which had 4.1 million viewers, and CBS' Late Show with David Letterman, which had 3.8 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Co.
Then many of Leno's viewers stuck with NBC, giving Late Night with Jimmy Fallon a 2.1 million win against its 12:35 a.m. competitor on CBS, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which had 1.8 million viewers.
After 17 years, Leno left Tonight last May in the hands of former Late Night host Conan O'Brien. O'Brien's early ratings on Tonight were strong. But he couldn't hang onto the audience that Leno had typically attracted, leading to his exit in January.
In the meantime, Leno starred in a weeknight NBC prime-time hour that was canceled for low ratings, with his reinstatement as Tonight Show host swiftly following.
Leno started Monday night's show by spoofing the conclusion of The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy awakens to find all those crazy goings-on were only a dream. Jay, seen in sepia tones in what was meant to be a Kansas farmhouse, said, "I went away to the strangest place. It was wonderful, but some of it wasn't so nice."
In fact, Leno had gone away from the nation's TV screens for less than a month when he returned Monday night to his old haunts in late night.
"It's good to be home," he told his audience as he began his first Tonight Show monologue since last spring.
"I'm Jay Leno, your host. At least, for a while."
