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The 2026–27 TV season officially began Sept. 21, which means the books have closed on 2025–26. And with Live+7 numbers now in, we have our first complete look at where late night landed.
Of course, anyone who even casually followed late night this past year knows the last season was anything but typical.
Between the continuing drama of Jimmy Kimmel‘s suspension at the start of the season and the eight-month countdown to Stephen Colbert‘s final late show in May, there were plenty of reasons for viewers to tune in. That is likely one of the reasons why—after years of declines—the 2025–26 season was, in aggregate, an up year for late night.
All told, among the programs we track, the eight shows that aired in both of the last two seasons averaged a combined 13.18 million viewers in 2025–26 per Nielsen, up 6.5% from 12.38 million the season before. Among adults 18–49, their combined audience rose a more modest 1.7%, to 1.53 million.
Kimmel led the gains; two shows fell
No returning show grew more than Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which jumped 36% in total viewers and 33% among adults 18–49.
Kimmel got there with a sizable head start: his return from suspension in late September averaged 4.52 million viewers across five telecasts.
The Daily Show also had a strong year, growing 16% in total viewers and 12% among adults 18–49. The Late Show was up 14% overall but just 3% in the demo. Colbert’s numbers come with a fairly large asterisk: his 2025–26 average covers only September through May, and his final month averaged 4.2 million viewers as audiences turned out for his farewell.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon gained about 2% in both measures, while Late Night with Seth Meyers was up about 2% overall and 6% among adults 18–49. Nightline rose 6% overall but slipped 3% in the demo, making it the only returning show to move in opposite directions across the two measures.
Only two shows were down across both ratings measures.
Gutfeld! fell 13% in total viewers and 23% among adults 18–49. Watch What Happens Live dropped 8% overall and 18% in the demo.
For Gutfeld!, at least, the comparison is a tough one: the 2024–25 season included a presidential election and the first months of a new administration, both periods that tend to boost cable news viewing.
Nielsen Big Data + Panel · Live+7
Late Night, Year Over Year
Average Live+7 audience per telecast in the 2025–26 season compared with 2024–25, for every show that aired in both seasons. Bars show the percent change from last season.
Measurement: Both seasons use Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement, so the comparison is consistent. Big Data + Panel became Nielsen’s official currency at the start of the 2025–26 season. The 2024–25 figures are Big Data + Panel numbers, not the panel-only figures reported at the time, so they may differ from previously published ratings.
* The Late Show last aired May 21, 2026, so its 2025–26 average covers September through May, including its final month.
Episodes counted: Averages include first-run episodes only, as submitted to Nielsen.
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, Live+7, P2+ and P18–49 average audience. 2024–25: Sept. 23, 2024–Sept. 21, 2025. 2025–26: Sept. 22, 2025–Sept. 20, 2026.
Gutfeld! still draws the biggest crowd
Even with those year-over-year declines, Gutfeld! remained the most-watched show among those we track, averaging 3.01 million viewers across 239 telecasts. The usual caveats apply: Gutfeld! airs at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, when more people are watching television, but Fox News also reaches fewer than half as many households as the broadcast networks.
The Late Show finished second at 2.88 million, followed by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 2.52 million.
The order changed among adults 18–49. Kimmel led the field with 284,000 viewers in the demo, ahead of The Late Show at 262,000, The Daily Show at 227,000, and Gutfeld! at 211,000.
The Tonight Show averaged 1.39 million total viewers. At 12:37 a.m., Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 989,000, narrowly topping Nightline‘s 957,000.
And then there’s CBS’s new post-Colbert reality.
Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, which took over the network’s 11:35 p.m. slot May 22, averaged 779,000 viewers in its first half-hour and 553,000 in its second. Funny You Should Ask, which follows it, averaged 468,000 and 413,000 viewers across its two half-hours.
Nielsen Live+7 · 2025–26 season
Late Night Season Averages
Average Live+7 audience per telecast for each show across the season, in order of start time (Eastern).
Episodes counted: Averages include first-run episodes only, as submitted to Nielsen, except for Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask, which include all telecasts.
Partial seasons: The Late Show last aired May 21, 2026. Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask began airing May 22, 2026.
Not measured: Comics Unleashed episodes airing on CBS from 12:35–1:35 a.m. between September and late May were not submitted to Nielsen for national measurement.
Time periods: The time listed is each show’s most common time period (Eastern).
Source: Nielsen, Live+7, P2+ and P18–49 average audience, Sept. 22, 2025–Sept. 20, 2026.
The 11:35 race changed in May
For most of the season, The Late Show was remarkably consistent, averaging about 2.7 million viewers a month from October through April.
Then came May. Colbert’s farewell month averaged 4.2 million.
Since June, Comics Unleashed has averaged about 650,000 viewers an hour in the same time period—roughly one-quarter of The Late Show‘s regular-season audience.
Kimmel’s month-to-month numbers tell almost the entire story of his season on their own: 4.52 million for his return in September, roughly 2.4 million to 2.6 million through the spring, 3.15 million in June with the NBA Finals airing on ABC and Colbert newly gone, and then 1.8 million in July as guest hosts took over for the summer. When Kimmel returned in September, the show’s monthly average popped back up substantially—to 2.85 million viewers.
Fallon also posted his best numbers after The Late Show left the air. The Tonight Show averaged 1.56 million viewers in July and 1.54 million in August after ranging from 1.22 million to 1.46 million earlier in the season.
Taken together, the three broadcast networks’ 11:35 p.m. slots averaged about 6.5 million viewers a month from October through April. From June through September, that figure was closer to 4.7 million.
Nielsen Live+7 · 2025–26 season
11:35 p.m., Month by Month
Average Live+7 audience per telecast each month for the shows in the 11:35 p.m. time period.
Tap or hover over a point for that month's numbers and telecasts, or select the chart and use the arrow keys.
Chart notes: Kimmel returned from suspension in late September 2025. The Late Show's finale aired May 21, 2026. Kimmel had guest hosts in July and August 2026.
Comics Unleashed is shown as an hour: each month is the average of its 11:35 p.m. and 12:05 a.m. half-hours.
Episodes counted: Averages include first-run episodes only, as submitted to Nielsen, except for Comics Unleashed, which includes all telecasts.
Changeover: The Late Show last aired May 21, 2026. Comics Unleashed began airing at 11:35 p.m. May 22, 2026.
Partial months: September 2025 covers Sept. 22–30. September 2026 covers Sept. 1–20.
Source: Nielsen, Live+7, P2+ and P18–49 average audience, Sept. 22, 2025–Sept. 20, 2026.
The new season
There are a few things the 2025–26 numbers can't tell us yet, mostly because The Late Show's exit came so late in the season.
Colbert has been gone for four months, and two of them were July and August—a stretch when guest hosts, reruns, vacations, and lighter viewing habits make late-night viewing particularly noisy.
That makes the 2026–27 season the first real test of the post-Colbert late-night landscape.
Does the broadcast growth continue with one fewer network show in the mix? Does Gutfeld! stabilize now that it is no longer being compared with an election-year season? Does Watch What Happens Live continue its slide? And how many of The Late Show's former viewers migrate to Comics Unleashed, Kimmel, or Fallon?
A note on the numbers: Both seasons are measured using Nielsen's Big Data + Panel methodology, which became the industry's official currency at the start of 2025–26. The 2024–25 figures cited here are Big Data + Panel numbers, not the panel-only figures reported at the time, so they may differ from previously published numbers. All figures are Live+7 averages per telecast and include first-run episodes only, except for Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask, which include all telecasts.
