Ratings: Colbert’s Penultimate Week Outdraws Fallon and Kimmel Combined

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert extended its final-stretch ratings surge during its penultimate week, fueled in part by a blockbuster Strike Force Five reunion and a much-buzzed-about visit from David Letterman.

According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data, the CBS late-night show averaged 3.30 million total viewers (+21 percent) and 313,000 adults 18–49 (+20 percent), leading the 11:35 p.m. field across both key measurements and posting the week’s largest audiences in both measures among all the shows we track.

Monday’s Strike Force Five reunion episode—which reunited Colbert with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver—drew 4.1 million viewers, marking the show’s largest audience for a regular weeknight episode in at least three years. (Only CBS’s special post-Super Bowl airing on Feb. 11, 2024 drew a larger audience over that span.)

Thursday’s episode featuring the return of original Late Show host David Letterman also delivered strong returns, drawing 3.7 million viewers to rank as the week’s second most-watched installment. All four of the week’s original episodes finished among the show’s 15 highest-rated telecasts since January 2023.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which aired repeats all week, fell to 1.26 million total viewers (–43 percent) and 118,000 adults 18–49 (–35 percent).

NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which aired three original episodes and two repeats after Fallon joined Colbert’s Monday night Strike Force Five reunion, averaged 1.26 million total viewers (–7 percent) and 206,000 adults 18–49 (–4 percent), finishing second at 11:35 in the demo.

At 12:37 a.m., NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers averaged 920,000 total viewers (–4 percent) and 147,000 adults 18–49 (+4 percent) across three original episodes and two repeats. ABC’s Nightline, which aired five original broadcasts, averaged 842,000 total viewers (–16 percent) and 74,000 adults 18–49 (–10 percent).

Switching to cable, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show averaged 1.05 million total viewers (+5 percent) and 234,000 adults 18–49 (+24 percent) across four original episodes.

On Fox News, Gutfeld! averaged 2.88 million total viewers (–9 percent) and 182,000 adults 18–49 (–18 percent) across three original episodes after the show was preempted Wednesday and Thursday.

Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live averaged 308,000 total viewers (flat) and 101,000 adults 18–49 (–5 percent).

Complete ratings charts for the week of May 10, 2026, follow below.

Note: Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.

Live+ 3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)

Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.