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Florence Pugh Brings Old Hollywood Glamour to ‘The Tonight Show’ as Her ‘East of Eden’ Premiere Nears

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After a stretch spent largely away from the spotlight, Florence Pugh is officially back on the press circuit, and her ‘Tonight Show’ appearance proves she’s ready for a busy season. Following a run of major releases that included ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Dune: Part Two’, ‘We Live in Time’ and ‘Thunderbolts*’, the actress stepped back briefly before gearing up for a packed second half of 2026. Now, the promotional machine is in full swing.

The biggest reason is just days away. Netflix has set a Thursday, October 1 premiere for its 7-part ‘East of Eden’ adaptation, with Pugh playing Cathy Ames. The series is adapted from John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel by Zoe Kazan, who serves as showrunner alongside Jeb Stuart.

On Monday, September 28, Pugh sat down with host Jimmy Fallon on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’, joining fellow guest Josh Hartnett and musical guest Gracie Abrams. The episode aired on NBC at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT, with Abrams closing the show with a performance tied to her album ‘Daughter From Hell’.

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Pugh’s look for the evening leaned into timeless elegance. In the photos, she wears a black off-the-shoulder mini dress with a draped neckline, paired with strappy black platform heels and a delicate choker. Her golden hair is styled in soft, voluminous Old Hollywood waves, framing a warm smile as she chats in front of the show’s glittering New York City skyline backdrop.

The combination of a sleek little black dress with vintage-inspired hair struck a perfect balance between polished and playful. It’s a fitting red-carpet-meets-late-night aesthetic for an actress stepping into a period drama.

The Netflix series carries some serious weight. Kazan has a family connection to the material, as her grandfather, Oscar-winning filmmaker Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 film adaptation starring James Dean. However, she has emphasized that her approach is very different, noting that the movie wasn’t a faithful adaptation of the small portion of the book it covered.

The show follows a fiercely independent woman in the early 1900s who drives a rift between 2 brothers, sparking a saga that spans 2 generations. Pugh’s Cathy is positioned as the antihero at the center of the story, and Kazan wrote and executive produced all 7 episodes.

The cast also includes Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist. Behind the camera, ‘Lion’ director Garth Davis helmed the first 4 episodes. Fallon wasn’t Pugh’s only stop. She’s also scheduled to visit ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ on Wednesday alongside comedian Ms. Pat, extending her promotional push across NBC’s late-night lineup.

That kind of media blitz makes sense given everything on her slate. Beyond ‘East of Eden’, Pugh is set to reprise Princess Irulan in ‘Dune: Part Three’, arriving in theaters December 18. Her future is packed as well. Pugh will star in and produce ‘The Midnight Library’, an adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling novel, reuniting with Davis, who is set to direct. Paramount acquired the package for $36 million, beating out Focus Features and Sony.

In that film, she’ll play Nora Seed, a woman who finds herself in a library between life and death with the chance to experience all the lives she could have lived. With a prestige Netflix drama, a blockbuster sequel, and a major new film in the works, the actress is entering one of the most exciting chapters of her career.

Are you excited to see Florence Pugh play Cathy Ames in East of Eden?

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