September Ratings: Kimmel, Meyers Surge in Return From Summer Break

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Late night’s return from summer break brought a ratings jolt in September, with Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Seth Meyers posting the month’s biggest total-viewer gains and some of its strongest growth among adults 18–49.

Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! after a two-month summer break filled by guest hosts, helping the ABC show strengthen its hold on the 11:35 p.m. ratings lead.

According to Nielsen Live+7 ratings data, Kimmel averaged just over 3 million viewers nightly across 13 first-run episodes in September, up 43% from August. Among adults 18–49, the show jumped 59% to an average of 336,000 viewers.

NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.50 million total viewers, down 3% month-over-month, while growing 24% in the demo to 230,000 adults 18–49.

At 12:37 a.m., Late Night with Seth Meyers returned with seven first-run episodes after spending the previous seven weeks in repeats. Those new episodes averaged 1.04 million total viewers, up 49% from the show’s all-repeat August average, and 139,000 adults 18–49, up 56%.

ABC’s Nightline also posted sizable gains, averaging 1.03 million total viewers, up 22% from August, and 149,000 adults 18–49, up 62%.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show returned after sitting out all of August, when the network aired other programming in its 11 p.m. time slot. Across 13 first-run September episodes, The Daily Show averaged 1.01 million total viewers and 157,000 adults 18–49. With no August episodes to compare against, no month-over-month change is listed.

CBS also brought first-run episodes back to portions of Byron Allen’s two-hour late-night block after airing repeats throughout August.

The 11:35 p.m. edition of Comics Unleashed averaged 787,000 total viewers across seven first-run episodes, up 3% from its all-repeat August average. It saw a larger increase among adults 18–49, growing 14% to 106,000.

The show’s 12:05 a.m. second half-hour remained in repeats, averaging 550,000 total viewers, down 1% from August, while rising 11% in the demo to 72,000.

September also brought the first new episodes of Funny You Should Ask since the game show joined CBS’s late-night lineup in May. Its 12:35 a.m. half-hour averaged 528,000 total viewers across seven new episodes, up 9% from its all-repeat August average, while jumping 43% among adults 18–49 to 86,000.

The show’s 1:05 a.m. half-hour remained in repeats, averaging 408,000 total viewers, down 4%, and 51,000 adults 18–49, down 6%.

Fox News’s Gutfeld! averaged 2.23 million total viewers in September, down 18% from August, and 152,000 adults 18–49, down 16%.

Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 364,000 total viewers across 17 first-run episodes, down 4% month-over-month, while its adults 18–49 audience was up 1% at 108,000.

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 ratings charts for September 2026 follow below.

Note: Monthly ratings averages include only first-run episodes, except in time periods where no first-run episodes aired. 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.