The Late Show with Stephen Colbert returned to the top of the 11:35 p.m. ratings race the week of May 3, 2026, delivering its strongest weekly performance since last summer as the show entered the final three weeks of its run.
According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data, the CBS late-night show averaged 2.73 million total viewers (+105 percent) and 261,000 adults 18–49 (+126 percent), leading the 11:35 field across both key ratings measures.
Boosted in part by a highly rated Tuesday interview with former President Barack Obama, the week marked Colbert’s biggest audience in both total viewers and adults 18–49 since the week of August 3, 2025, after the announcement of the show’s cancellation sparked a surge of viewer interest last summer.
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which led the week prior while CBS aired repeats, fell back to second place at 11:35, averaging 2.20 million total viewers (–19 percent) and 182,000 adults 18–49 (–20 percent).
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.35 million total viewers (+8 percent) and 215,000 adults 18–49 (+15 percent), finishing third in total viewers but second in the demo.
At 12:37 a.m., NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and ABC’s Nightline again split bragging rights, with the NBC program averaging 962,000 total viewers (+10 percent) and 141,000 adults 18–49 (–5 percent), while the ABC News broadcast drew 1.00 million total viewers (–4 percent) and 82,000 in the demo (–15 percent).
Switching to cable, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 1.01 million total viewers (–12 percent) and 188,000 adults 18–49 (–29 percent) across four original episodes.
On Fox News, Gutfeld! again drew the largest overall audience among the shows we track, averaging 3.17 million total viewers (–3 percent). In the demo, the program delivered 221,000 adults 18–49 (–9 percent).
Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 309,000 total viewers (–19 percent) and 107,000 adults 18–49 (–7 percent).
Complete ratings charts for the week of May 3, 2026, follow below.
Note: Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.
| Avg Share (%) | Avg Viewers (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 6.43 | 3,168 | -3% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 5 first-run episodes | 0.60 | 309 | -19% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.84 | 1,006 | -12% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 7.93 | 2,198 | -19% |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 9.94 | 2,730 | +105% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 5.02 | 1,348 | +8% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 5.11 | 1,002 | -4% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 5.50 | 962 | +10% |
Live+ 3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)
| US Share (%) | US AA Proj (000’s) | Vs Last Wk | |
| 10:00 PM | |||
| Gutfeld! (FNC)† 5 first-run episodes | 2.10 | 221 | -9% |
| Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)* 5 first-run episodes | 0.98 | 107 | -7% |
| 11:00 PM | |||
| The Daily Show (COM)* 4 first-run episodes | 2.59 | 188 | -29% |
| 11:35 PM | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 3.14 | 182 | -20% |
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 4.61 | 261 | +126% |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 3.91 | 215 | +15% |
| 12:37 AM | |||
| Nightline (ABC)* 5 first-run episodes | 2.02 | 82 | -15% |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) 4 first-run episodes, 1 repeat | 4.03 | 141 | -5% |
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.
Going out with a whimper
I do not know which is sadder: The ratings, or Dave thanking Stephen for “what you did for America.” = Destroyed Late Night Television. Anybody else tired/done with “The Resistance?” Multimillionaires professing that they know what is best does not make for riveting or interesting televsion.
You for taking joy in Colbert getting kneecapped by that orange criminal you lick up!
He’s going out with his head held high, while your scumbag of a president shows how small an excuse of a being he is!
2.73 million? This is something to celebrate? With the ending, one would think that ratings would be over 3.0-5.0. Perhaps linnear television has suffered from Politics. Stephen and Jimmy gave people a reason to sample streaming.
I don’t think so! You’re a pathetic loser of a hater that despises Colbert for dropping truth bombs on your Dear Toddler of a pedophile! Everyone here knows you for acting like a crybaby over Colbert and Kimmel!
Grow up!
It wasn’t politics, it just the decline of linear TV. You can argue about the YouTube numbers, but it’s the decline of linear TV, that’s happening elsewhere, all over the world, even where TV stations avoided politics. This raises questions about whether it makes sense to keep valuable spectrum just for informecials or if it makes sense to rely on the internet and FM radio for natural disasters.