Jay Leno premiered his new show at its new time last night. Critics have scrutinized the move since it was announced. However, on its first night early estimates had the Jay Leno Show grabbing close to 18 million viewers – which is quite impressive since it was up against Monday Night Football. Guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Jay-Z, RiHanna, and Kanye West. Kanye may have played a part in the spike in viewers because of his rant at the MTV Video Music Awards the night before.

Not much was noticeably different about the show. The show did lack a desk for Jay which made some Q & A seem a little awkward.  But, Jay Leno seemed his usual poised self and the show took on the general same format as his prior.

Ad Age observed that there were big name brands advertising on this first night – Advertisers for the evening included InBev Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light, Sprint, Chili’s, American Express, Ford Motor Co., Best Buy and Walgreen’s.

Here is a clip of the show with Jerry. Notice there is no desk for Jay.