Series finales usually come with a ratings bump—a last hurrah from loyal fans, curiosity seekers, and/or media coverage that draws in lapsed viewers for one final goodbye. But After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson bucked tradition, closing out its 18-month run not with a spike, but with a soft fadeout instead.
Airing its final episode last Thursday, June 12, the show drew just 486,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. That’s down 9% from the average of the previous 30 episodes (534,000 viewers), and 20% lower than the show’s total eighteen-month average of 604,000.
It was a muted ending for a show that premiered in January 2024 to a viewing audience of nearly 700,000, and hit a series high of 2 million viewers less than a month later on Super Bowl Sunday 2024. But that peak was never sustained. Viewership gradually settled into the mid-500,000s for much of the run, occasionally spiking depending on a guest or lead-in performance.
The show also struggled to hold onto the 18–49 demographic. After Midnight’s finale drew just 55,000 viewers in the demo—down 24% from the recent average (73,000), and a steep 47% drop from its series-wide average of 103,000. Among all episodes, it was one of the weakest demo performers ever, clocking in just 18,000 viewers above the show’s all-time low in the category.
To be fair, CBS never positioned After Midnight as a mass-audience juggernaut. Reimagined from the Comedy Central cult hit @midnight, the series was a digital-forward experiment that thrived more in YouTube clips and social media than it did in overnight ratings.
As we’ve reported, Tomlinson addressed why she chose to step away from the show at the top of Thursday night’s episode: “It was just not sustainable for me,” she said. “It was my dream that I would get to finish out the season and hand it off to a new host. I really wanted CBS to replace me… because I just think there are so many amazing comedians who would have done a great job with the show.”
After Midnight will air repeats through mid-September. Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed is set to take over CBS’ 12:37am time slot on September 22nd.
All CBS shows is repeats, so im not surprised to hear they’re going to run it to death until September. It’s become such a chore trying fo find out when shows are on that I’ve just given up, so many repeats mixed in with new stuff.
It was a muted ending because fans couldn’t understand why she would turn down only taping 3 days a week and being offered a new season.
I’m a fan of hers but I can’t see her standup so I was watching her every night. I loved the show, just bummed she gave it up.
Good. I only wish the final episode viewers were lower. Why would we the viewers reward CBS for killing off the time slot.
The show was better in the beginning, then in Season 2, they decided to go political. Bad mistake. Lost me and many many others.
You would think with all hype here that this was watched by millions…..but turned out to be a dried out turd.
ya ngl when I heard the news I was kinda pissed. I watched every episode. I like Taylor but after only less then 2 years to quit and leave all the staff and crew unemployed is just selfish. I get that you wanted to do other things, but they offered her 3 days a week and they could have had time to figure out a transition.
it was a fun show and I’ll miss it, but kinda left a bad taste in my mouth let last few weeks after I heard the news and stayed away.
I love Taylor she’s a great comedian and she’s gorgeous I wish she would have stayed with after midnight but I wish her the best of luck I’d like to take her out for dinner lol 😂😂😂❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Have to stop blaming CBS. They offered Taylor another season and it was her that turned down the offer.
I think most of us that would normally watch the show did not watch the last 2 weeks because Taylor was just phoning it in, there was no comedy in those last few shows.
to me after midnight and comics unleashed are rehearsed and all comedians (?) are given the jokes and come back ahead of time. I didn’t find either show funny and especially Taylor is not funny and obviously won’t be watching unleashed in Sept.
The original @Midnight felt way less scripted than After Midnight ever did. like the setups to each game were the only scripted parts. After Midnight should have been 30 Mins without the opening monologue or the talk show portion.
CBS dropped the ball completely. They absolutely should’ve replaced Taylor with any one of the guest comedians that appeared on the show. Now they’ll probably just give the time back to the local affiliates. What a waste of two years.
It’s damn shame, but CBS has no heart in this show which damn shame.
Taylor didn’t want to go political. She did her best to shine as much light on the talent at the show. She had no creative control. The criticisms, other than just not finding her funny, lack insight. Not finding her funny can be attributed to genetic defects and environmental arrested developmental factors.
I am forever grateful for the two seasons and wish Taylor and crew all the best in future endeavours.
It is being cancelled because it is not even remotely close to being funny or entertaining. You either need to be on drugs or bored out of your mind to find something close to real humor. The show consists of random absurd comments from want-to-be comedians. The only person laughing fake laughter is the host and the planted young girls in the first row who scream at stupid remarks. Thank goodness CBS is killing it.