The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Episode: Trump Sues BBC for $10 Billion | Finn Wolfhard, Martha Stewart, Nathaniel Rateliff
Date: December 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This lively holiday-season episode of The Tonight Show blends classic Jimmy Fallon comedy, timely political satire, and upbeat celebrity interviews. Jimmy and his guests delve into recent news (with a particular spotlight on Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC), celebrate milestones with Finn Wolfhard and Nathaniel Rateliff, and get festive (and practical) with Martha Stewart’s holiday and gardening advice. The show’s signature mix of music, games, and lightheartedness is on full display.

Monologue Highlights & News Parody

[01:10 – 03:11]

• Weather Humor: Fallon riffs on New York City’s cold snap with rapid-fire one-liners.

  • "It's so cold in New York. Hot dog vendors are now selling Vienna sausages."

• Political Satire:

  • Fallon lampoons Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC for allegedly editing his Jan. 6 speech.
    • “He was like, I’m taking this all the way to the leader of the British courts, Dumbledore.” ([01:52])
    • The punchline: "The BBC was like, trust us, if we want to make you look bad, we’d air the unedited speech."
  • Additional Trump family jokes:
    • On Trump Jr.’s engagement: "Congrats, the third engagement is always the best."
  • Trump’s planned address: "At least it'll be short." ([02:55])

• Stranger Things Release Parody:

  • Fallon jokes about the convoluted Netflix release schedule.
  • Hilarious audience bit:
    • "Volume 7 is 2,000 episodes on Yesterday. Episode Volume is Volume Day. On Day Day. Episode Dustin is 67 on the Fourth of July. And Episode 5 is The Empire Strikes Only on Quibi." ([03:31])

Improv Comedy: Musical Game with Carl Schmertz

[04:04 – 08:18]

• Concept: Improv comic Carl Schmertz turns audience names into spontaneous songs, each somehow involving “The Pizza Stall.”
• Highlights:
  • Carl finds increasingly absurd ways to rhyme “Pizza Stall” with names like Nancy, Carol, and Lisa Paul.
  • Fallon pushes back:
    • Fallon: “Can we please forget about pizza stalls? I don’t even know… what is your problem with pizza stalls?”
  • Musical improv devolves into running pizza jokes, to the delight and confusion of the audience.
  • Ends with a group sing of “Pizza Stall, Pizza Stall, let’s all hang out at the Pizza Stall!” ([07:55])

Interview: Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, Album ‘Happy Birthday’)

[08:35 – 20:34]

Music & Albums

• New Album:

  • Finn discusses his debut solo album, Happy Birthday, and reveals it’s also nearly his real birthday (turning 23 on the 23rd). ([09:35])
  • Inspiration: His mom bought him a guitar at 4, but he just stared at it for years.
  • First music obsession:
    • "The Beatles were the things that got me. The band that got me into everything."
    • He idolized Paul McCartney and started with bass.

• Directing for George Harrison:

  • Finn directed a new stop-motion video for George Harrison’s “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth.” ([10:50])
  • Got the gig via Fred Armisen and the Harrison family:
    • “That’s something that’s like… you can’t pass up that opportunity.”
    • Video depicts George gardening, capturing his personality.
  • Fallon: “It’s very George.” Finn: “Yeah, and so I wanted to make something that I feel like he would have liked.”

• Song “Trailers After Dark”:

  • Finn explains it’s about a Canadian TV channel that looped movie trailers 24/7.
  • Song grew on him after a producer friend nudged him:
    • “I kind of saw it through his eyes…and it became like one of my favorites.”

Stranger Things: Final Season

• Production & Training:

  • Increased action: "The Duffer Brothers texted me...just to let you know, there’s a one-take scene that’s three minutes long where you just have to run nonstop." ([15:36])
  • Finn: "The last time I did that...I almost puked."

• Emotional Series finale:

  • Fallon: “You all kind of grew up together.”
  • Finn: “It was like our weird little version of school except the school was in front of everyone.”
  • Finn describes wrapping the show:
    • “Let’s just take like three minutes for ourselves...really be as present in the moment as we possibly could. That was really the most special moment ever.” ([18:25])

• One-word tease game:

  • “The Shock Jock”: "Crispy."
  • “Escape from Camazotz”: "Shocking."
  • “The Bridge”: "Enlightening."
  • “The Right side Up”: "Emotional." ([19:23 – 20:28])

Interview: Martha Stewart (Book “Entertaining,” Elm Biosciences Skincare)

[20:59 – 29:59]

Holiday Spirit & Sports Mishaps

• Christmas Decoration Critique:
  • Martha dislikes inflatable yard decorations: “They're always like flaccid and falling on the ground. I hate, I hate those.” ([22:01])
• NBA Toe Trauma:
  • Recounts New York Knicks game where player Jalen Brunson accidentally broke her toe:
    • “He comes crashing down, sits on my lap...stepped and he broke your toe?...He broke my toe.” ([22:50])
    • Best consolation: a signed basketball for her grandchild.

Gardening & Home Expertise

• Gardening Crash Course:
  • Fallon brings Martha a cucumber he grew (awkwardly shaped):
    • Martha: “What were you growing it in?”
    • Fallon: “Out of a pot.”
    • Martha: “You can’t grow cucumbers in a pot.” ([24:53])
  • Lesson: Cucumbers need to trellis upward; organic soil is vital.
    • “You must trellis cucumbers. They have to grow up something.”
• Tomato Varieties:
  • Martha loves Big Boys and Better Boys.
  • Fallon’s “Beefmaster” was comically undersized.

Entrepreneurship & Skincare

• ELM Biosciences:

  • Stewart co-founded a skincare line with Dr. Bonasali, focusing on innovative molecules for men and women.
    • Fallon tries it live on air:
      • Martha: “You look better.”
      • Fallon: “I looked good, but now I look even better.” ([28:14])

• Book Reissue: “Entertaining”

  • Stewart’s first book from 1982, re-released in a faithful facsimile edition (“even dedicated to my ex-husband – put him back in for this one because it’s the real thing.”) ([29:41])
  • “That book encouraged me to go on with the rest of my life. And it’s been so much fun.”

Interview: Nathaniel Rateliff (Music & Milestones)

[30:35 – 35:51]

Personal & Professional Updates

• Life Changes:
  • Engaged, married, getting a cat (“Franklin”), expecting a baby. ([31:17])
  • Fallon: “What a time!”
  • Rateliff: “It’s been a big year. Surprising.”
• Tonight Show Memories:
  • Recalls his first late-night appearance in 2015 performing “SOB”; Fallon’s plugging boosted presales, which "changed our lives." ([31:54])
  • Paul McCartney called Fallon afterward:
    • “Paul McCartney goes, ‘Who was that band? You know, that was a great band. That was really good.’”
  • Fallon and Rateliff reflect on the role of late night for music:
    • Rateliff: “What late night TV is for artists like myself and people in the film industry—this is an important thing that you do. And I think it should be preserved.” ([33:09])

Music Journey & Legacy

• Colorado Music Hall of Fame:
  • Rateliff: “That community embraced me and gave me space...as an artist to figure out what I was doing.”
  • Started several bands—and gardening was a side gig.
  • Night Sweats project began as attic demos; collaboration with Richard Swift shaped sound.
• Live Shows:
  • Fallon: “When you perform live…everyone knows all the words, and they're yelling it back to you. Say it's a full-on party. Does that give you chills?”
  • Rateliff: “Sometimes I’m just like, wow. I think we’ve become a pretty good band sometimes.”
• 10th Anniversary Album:
  • Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats 10th Anniversary Edition now available.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Jimmy Fallon, Trump Lawsuit Satire ([01:52]):
  “He was like, I’m taking this all the way to the leader of the British courts, Dumbledore.”
• Carl Schmertz, musical improv ([07:55]):
  “Pizza Stall, Pizza Stall, let’s all hang out at the Pizza Stall!”
• Finn Wolfhard, on childhood and Stranger Things ([18:18]):
  “We totally did. It was like our weird little version of school, except the school was in front of everyone.”
• Martha Stewart, on holiday inflatable decor ([22:06]):
  “They’re always like flaccid and falling on the ground. I hate, I hate those.”
• Nathaniel Rateliff, on late-night TV’s legacy ([33:09]):
  “This is an important thing that you do. And I think it should be preserved.”

Key Timestamps for Segments

• [01:10] – Monologue
• [04:04] – Carl Schmertz Improv Game
• [08:35] – Finn Wolfhard Interview
• [20:59] – Martha Stewart Interview
• [30:35] – Nathaniel Rateliff Interview

Tone & Style

The entire episode keeps to Fallon’s light, celebratory, and banter-filled style—rarely missing a chance for a self-deprecating joke or a goofy bit. Guests match his easygoing energy, providing both personal anecdotes and sharp, media-friendly soundbites.

Recommended for: Fans of comedy, TV and pop culture, Stranger Things aficionados, gardening hobbyists, and anyone interested in music or lifestyle inspiration.
Not to miss: Finn Wolfhard’s vulnerable reflection on finishing Stranger Things, Martha’s no-BS gardening tips, and Nathaniel Rateliff’s shoutout to late-night TV’s legacy.