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Jimmy Kimmel’s Brooklyn homecoming last week delivered a big ratings boost for Jimmy Kimmel Live!—but he wasn’t the only 11:35 p.m. show moving higher.
According to Nielsen Live+3 data, Kimmel averaged 3.295 million total viewers for the week of Sept. 27, up 29 percent week over week, and 379,000 adults 18–49, up 30 percent.
JKL’s week peaked Monday, when an episode airing after Monday Night Football began at 11:53 p.m. ET and drew 3.964 million total viewers and 663,000 adults 18–49, the show’s biggest night of the week in both measures.
More broadly, it was an up week across the 11:35 landscape. Among Kimmel, The Tonight Show, and the first half-hour of Comics Unleashed, five of the six week-over-week comparisons moved higher. The lone decline was Tonight in total viewers, and that was a modest 2 percent dip.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.385 million total viewers, down 2 percent, while jumping 33 percent among adults 18–49 to 247,000.
It was an unusually shaped week for Fallon. Tonight produced a special Sunday episode following Sunday Night Football that didn’t begin until 12:56 a.m. ET, then saw its Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday episodes delayed by 10 to 21 minutes because of baseball. The show aired four first-run episodes and two repeats in all.
The first half-hour of CBS’ Comics Unleashed averaged 829,000 total viewers, up 12 percent, and 116,000 adults 18–49, up 21 percent. Across its full hour, the Byron Allen-hosted show averaged approximately 725,000 total viewers and 103,000 in the demo, up about 12 percent and 19 percent, respectively.
ABC’s Nightline posted double-digit gains in both measures, averaging 1.249 million total viewers across five first-run episodes, up 16 percent, and 173,000 adults 18–49, up 11 percent.
NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 976,000 total viewers, up 1 percent, and 133,000 adults 18–49, up 10 percent. Meyers aired four first-run episodes and one repeat. Like Fallon, he saw his Tuesday-through-Thursday shows pushed later by baseball.
CBS’ Funny You Should Ask extended its recent gains. Across its full hour, the show averaged approximately 511,000 total viewers, up about 13 percent week over week, and 76,000 adults 18–49, up about 21 percent. Its first half-hour aired four originals and one repeat, while the second half-hour remained entirely in repeats.
On cable, The Daily Show averaged 879,000 total viewers across four first-run episodes, down 6 percent, while rising 3 percent in the demo to 157,000. Jon Stewart hosted Monday, with Jordan Klepper taking over Tuesday through Thursday.
Fox News’ Gutfeld! averaged 2.022 million total viewers across five first-run episodes, down 5 percent, and 134,000 adults 18–49, down 11 percent.
Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 288,000 total viewers across five first-run episodes, down 20 percent, and 78,000 adults 18–49, down 17 percent.
A reminder that linear ratings represent only one slice of the viewing audience, with additional viewing taking place on streaming services, YouTube, and other social media platforms.
Complete Nielsen Live+3 ratings for the week of Sept. 27–Oct. 3, 2026, follow below.
Live+3 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)
| Avg Share (%) | Avg Viewers (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 p.m. | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 4.23 | 2,022 | -5% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 5 first-run episodes | 0.58 | 288 | -20% |
| 11:00 p.m. | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.52 | 879 | -6% |
| 11:35 p.m. | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 5 first-run episodes | 13.10 | 3,295 | +29% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 2 repeats | 6.53 | 1,385 | -2% |
| Comics Unleashed 1 (CBS)* 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 2.98 | 829 | +12% |
| 12:05 a.m. | |||
| Comics Unleashed 2 (CBS)* 5 repeats | 2.82 | 621 | +13% |
| 12:35 a.m. | |||
| Funny You Should Ask 1 (CBS)* 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 2.97 | 549 | +12% |
| 12:37 a.m. | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 6.95 | 1,249 | +16% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 6.14 | 976 | +1% |
| 1:05 a.m. | |||
| Funny You Should Ask 2 (CBS)* 5 repeats | 3.05 | 472 | +14% |
Live+3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)
| US Share (%) | US AA Proj (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 p.m. | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 1.28 | 134 | -11% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 5 first-run episodes | 0.70 | 78 | -17% |
| 11:00 p.m. | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.01 | 157 | +3% |
| 11:35 p.m. | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 5 first-run episodes | 7.04 | 379 | +30% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 2 repeats | 5.76 | 247 | +33% |
| Comics Unleashed 1 (CBS)* 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 1.93 | 116 | +21% |
| 12:05 a.m. | |||
| Comics Unleashed 2 (CBS)* 5 repeats | 1.88 | 89 | +17% |
| 12:35 a.m. | |||
| Funny You Should Ask 1 (CBS)* 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 2.14 | 85 | +23% |
| 12:37 a.m. | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 4.52 | 173 | +11% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 4.01 | 133 | +10% |
| 1:05 a.m. | |||
| Funny You Should Ask 2 (CBS)* 5 repeats | 2.06 | 67 | +17% |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.