We don’t have Stephen Colbert to kick around anymore.
The “Late Show” host and the program itself faded to black last month after costing CBS millions.
The late-night format is still dying, with or without Colbert’s Democratic talking points. But where did his viewers go?
Colbert reigned supreme in the late-night landscape, consistently topping “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Tonight Show.” Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” beats them all, but the show airs in the 10 pm ET slot, an hour and a half before the others tell their first, far-Left joke.
Now that “The Late Show” has joined “The Magic Hour,” “The Chevy Chase Show” and “Thicke of the Night” in late-night’s canceled bin, where did Colbert’s fans go?
Turns out “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” got the biggest bump, but Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” saw the largest percentage increase.
So far.
Jimmy Kimmel Asked Rosie O’Donnell to Guest Host His Show as ‘Special Treat’ to Donald Trump https://t.co/CFYztqST7Y
— People (@people) June 19, 2026
The far-Left The Wrap shared how the breakdown has gone so far, with one sizable caveat. ABC aired the NBA finals in recent days, which certainly helped Kimmel outleg the competition.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” rose “24 percent in total viewers over last year’s viewership of 1.63 million and 29 percent in the key 18-49 demo over comparable weeks last season,” the site reports.
Over at NBC, “The Tonight Show” enjoyed a “19 percent uptick in total viewers to average 1.3 million viewers and a 42 percent rise in demo viewers.” That’s compared to a similar time period last year.
The fallout is surprising given the ideological nature of the two shows. Kimmel’s entire brand is anti-Trump and he treats his nightly monologues like an MS NOW audition reel. Colbert would certainly approve of that approach.
He mastered it for more than a decade.
Fallon, by comparison, leans to the Left and avoids mocking Democrats as much as possible. He still lacks Kimmel’s ideological rage.
It was only natural for Colbert’s flock to go somewhere after his slow-motion cancellation. The new numbers will do little, though, to prevent the inevitable.
Late-night TV remains on borrowed time. Just ask David Letterman, a former titan of the late-night wars.
The post Here’s Where Stephen Colbert’s Far-Left Viewers Went appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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