Here Are Final Late Night Ratings for Q2 2026

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Late night’s second quarter of 2026 was anything but routine.

The quarter saw the end of CBS’s 30-year Late Show franchise, the introduction of Byron Allen’s two-hour time-buy block in its place, and the launch of a temporary World Cup-adjacent late-night show on Fox. It also produced major ratings spikes for both Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, though under circumstances that make this quarter more difficult than usual to compare with the one before it.

According to Nielsen Live+7 ratings data, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finished its run as the quarter’s most-watched late-night program, averaging 3.49 million viewers across 25 first-run episodes. That marked a 29 percent increase over the first quarter.

The show also posted the quarter’s largest demo gain, averaging 358,000 adults 18–49, up 54 percent.

Those averages were lifted by Colbert’s three-week farewell run, culminating in a May 21 finale that drew 9.77 million viewers—the show’s largest weeknight audience ever.

Only Colbert’s 2016 post-Super Bowl broadcast drew more Live+7 viewers. By share, however, the finale surpassed even that episode, with 33.32 percent of people watching television at the time tuning in for Colbert’s swan song.

The finale also averaged 1.58 million adults 18–49 and posted a series-high 26.12 percent demo share.

Still, the quarterly increase was not the result of a single outsized episode. Viewer interest built throughout Colbert’s final weeks, sending The Late Show out with ratings rarely seen anywhere in late night in the current television era.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! ranked second at 11:35 p.m. in total viewers, averaging 2.73 million, up 8 percent from Q1. The show averaged 319,000 adults 18–49, a 25 percent increase.

Kimmel’s quarter was shaped largely by an unusually strong June. With The Late Show no longer airing new episodes, Kimmel faced less direct competition at 11:35 p.m. and also received several major boosts from ABC’s NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final coverage.

Four June episodes following sports coverage each topped 700,000 adults 18–49, pushing Kimmel’s monthly averages to record levels and substantially lifting his quarterly result.

NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon also improved in both measures, averaging 1.39 million total viewers, up 4 percent, and 211,000 adults 18–49, up 19 percent.

Fox News’s Gutfeld! averaged 3.09 million total viewers across 61 first-run episodes, down 6 percent from Q1. In the demo, the show averaged 213,000 adults 18–49, a decline of 14 percent.

At 11 p.m., Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 1.18 million total viewers, up 4 percent, while its demo audience slipped 6 percent to 246,000. According to research from Comedy Central, that marked the show’s strongest Q2 performance among total viewers since Q2 2018, and its strongest Q2 performance in the demo since Q2 2017.

The quarter also offered the first ratings look at CBS’s post-Colbert lineup.

The network replaced The Late Show with back-to-back episodes of Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, followed by two episodes of Funny You Should Ask. The two-hour block launched late in the quarter, so each show’s average was based on roughly one month of episodes.

The first-run 11:35 p.m. edition of Comics Unleashed averaged 840,000 total viewers and 93,000 adults 18–49. The second episode, a repeat airing at 12:05 a.m., averaged 562,000 viewers and 66,000 in the demo.

At 12:35 a.m., repeats of Funny You Should Ask averaged 464,000 total viewers and 59,000 adults 18–49. Its 1:05 a.m. edition averaged 406,000 viewers and 53,000 in the demo.

Because the shows were not part of the first-quarter schedule, no quarter-to-quarter comparisons are available. Their Q2 results instead establish an early benchmark for Allen’s time-buy arrangement with CBS.

Elsewhere in late night this quarter:

Fox introduced another new entry with FIFA World Cup on FOX After Hours with James Corden, a temporary midnight show tied to the network’s World Cup coverage. Across 13 first-run episodes, the program, which marked former Late Late Show host James Corden‘s return to late-night TV, averaged 632,000 total viewers and 201,000 adults 18–49. Its run extends into Q3 and is scheduled to end July 19.

At 12:37 a.m., ABC’s Nightline averaged 982,000 total viewers, up 1 percent, and 113,000 adults 18–49, up 15 percent.

NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 974,000 viewers, down 3 percent, while increasing 6 percent in the demo to 148,000.

Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen averaged 330,000 total viewers and 102,000 adults 18–49, declines of 17 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Year Over Year (vs. Q2 2025)

Looking only at shows with apples-to-apples comparisons from Q2 2025, the total audience across LateNighter’s tracked programs grew 17 percent among total viewers and 23 percent among adults 18–49 year-over-year, with five of the eight returning programs posting gains in both measures.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! posted the largest total-viewer gains, with each up 47 percent year-over-year. Colbert recorded the quarter’s strongest demo growth, rising 71 percent among adults 18–49, while Kimmel grew 42 percent.

Late Night with Seth Meyers was up 6 percent in total viewers and 30 percent in the demo, while The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon gained 8 percent and 29 percent, respectively. The Daily Show also improved across both measures, rising 25 percent in total viewers and 16 percent among adults 18–49.

Nightline posted split results, growing 9 percent in total viewers while slipping 1 percent in the demo.

The remaining two programs declined across both measures. Watch What Happens Live fell 13 percent in total viewers and 15 percent in the demo, while Gutfeld! was down 9 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Complete Q2 2026 ratings charts follow below.

Note: Quarterly ratings averages include only first-run episodes, except in time periods where no first-run episodes air. Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.

Live+7 Ratings – All Viewers (P2+)

Live+7 Ratings – In the Demo (P18-49)

Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.