
A late-night talk show is a genre of
talk show
A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...
, originating in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It is characterized by spontaneous
conversation
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
, and for an effect of immediacy and intimacy as if the host were speaking directly to each member of the watching audience.
Erving Goffman
Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born American sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century".
In 2007, '' The Time ...
(1981
''Forms of Talk'' pp.234-160
/ref>[Erler, Robert (2010) "A Guide to Television Talk," in Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show, by Bernard M. Timberg] Late-night talk shows are also fundamentally shaped by the personality of the host.[Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010]
Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show
', pp.3-4
The late-night talk show format was popularized by Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
and his sidekick Ed McMahon
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the American Bro ...
with ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
'' on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
. Typically the show's host conducts interviews from behind a desk, while the guest is seated on a couch. Many late night talk shows feature a house band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment.
It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
which generally performs cover songs for the studio audience during commercial breaks and occasionally will back up a guest artist.
Late-night talk shows are a widely-viewed format in the United States, but are not as prominent in other parts of the world. Shows that loosely resemble the format air in other countries, but generally air weekly as opposed to the nightly airings of those in the United States. They also generally air in time slots considered to be prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
in the United States.
History
United States
1940s–1960s
Late-night talk shows had their genesis in early variety shows, a format that migrated to television from radio, where it had been the dominant form of light entertainment during most of the old-time radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...
era. ''The Pepsodent Show
''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast from 1938 to 1948, during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna, alongside Blanche Stewart, Elvia Allman, and a continuously rotating suppor ...
'', which opened each weekly episode with host Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
's rapid-fire, topical and often political observational comedy Observational comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy. In an observational comedy act, the comedian makes an observation about something which is common eno ...
, was a particularly important predecessor to the late-night format.
Early television variety shows included ''The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'' (originally known as ''Toast of the Town''), which aired on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
Sunday nights from 1948 to 1971, and ''Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...
'' with Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...
, which aired on NBC from 1948 to 1956. These shows aired once a week in evening time slots that would come to be known as prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
.
The first show to air in a late-night timeslot itself, ''Broadway Open House
''Broadway Open House'' is network television's first late-night comedy-variety series.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 138. It was telecast live on NBC from May ...
'', aired on NBC in 1950 and ended a year later after host Jerry Lester
Jerry Lester (born Lester J. Goldberg; February 16, 1910 – March 23, 1995) was an American comedian, singer and performer on radio, television and the stage, known for playing the father of the main characters, Mike Firpo, in the comedy ...
left the show, a combination of frustration with being upstaged by his sidekick Virginia "Dagmar" Lewis, burnout from having to go through a large amount of material in a short time, and the lack of enough television sets in the United States to make television broadcasting in late nights viable. (Lester himself was a last-minute replacement host for up-and-coming 26-year-old comic Don Hornsby, whom Hope had recommended to NBC but who caught polio and died less than a week before the show began.) For the next season, the only late-night program on the networks was NBC's ''Nightcap'', a preview of the next day's programming hosted by Mary Kay Stearns.
The first late-night television talk show was ''The Faye Emerson Show'', hosted by actress Faye Emerson. It began airing on CBS on October 24, 1949, in local East Coast markets before the network moved the 15-minute show, which regularly aired up to 11pm, nationwide in March 1950. In 1950, Emerson also hosted a similar show on NBC called ''Fifteen with Faye'' for about six months before committing the CBS show. Emerson's show was distinguished from her competition on NBC in that she was more openly political; Emerson, an avowed Democrat, regularly interviewed political and intellectual figures on her show (among them Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
) in addition to a smattering of vaudeville and variety acts.
The first version of ''The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'', ''Tonight Starring Steve Allen
''Tonight Starring Steve Allen'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Steve Allen, it aired from September 27, 1954 to January 25, 1957, and was replaced by ...
'', debuted in 1954 on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
. The show created many modern talk show staples including an opening monologue, celebrity interviews, audience participation, comedy bits, and musical performances; it also had some holdovers from the radio era, including a vocal group (Steve and Eydie
Steve and Eydie were American pop vocal duo Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. They began working together in 1954 on ''Tonight Starring Steve Allen'', and in a career spanning a half century, they became "a ubiquitous presence on records, televisi ...
, who went on to decades of success after ''Tonight'') in addition to the house band, something that later late-night shows would abandon. By this point, the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
had lifted a freeze on new television stations, which allowed new stations to appear across the country, and television set sales soon grew exponentially. As a result, unlike ''Broadway Open House'', ''Tonight'' proved to be a resounding success.
The success of the show led Allen to receive another show, entitled ''The Steve Allen Show
''The Steve Allen Show'' is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, '', which would compete with ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' on Sunday nights. Meanwhile, hosting duties of ''The Tonight Show'' were split between Allen and Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his dea ...
; Kovacs had defected to NBC from his own late-night show on the then-crumbling DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...
. Both Allen and Kovacs departed from ''Tonight'' in 1957 in order to focus on Allen's Sunday night show. After the two left, the format changed to something similar to ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* The current day and calendar date
** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone
* Now, the time that is perceived directly, present
* The current, present era
Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' and was renamed ''Tonight! America After Dark,'' hosted first by Jack Lescoulie, and later by Al Collins, with interviews conducted by Hy Gardner, and a house band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment.
It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
led by Lou Stein performing. The show was not popular, leading to many NBC affiliates dropping the show. The show returned to the original format that year and was renamed ''Tonight Starring Jack Paar
''Tonight Starring Jack Paar'' (in later seasons ''The Jack Paar Tonight Show'') is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jack Paar, it aired from July 29, 1957 ...
''.
The even greater success of the show during Paar's hosting resulted in many NBC affiliates deciding to clear the show. He was noted for his conversational style, relatively high-brow interview guests, feuds with other media personalities (his animosity toward print journalists Ed Sullivan and Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...
marked a power shift from print to television; Winchell's career never recovered from the damage), and mercurial personality. Paar quit the show in 1960 in a dispute over a censored joke, but was allowed to come back a month later. He permanently left the show in 1962, saying that he could not handle the workload of ''The Tonight Show'' (at the time, the show ran 105 minutes a day, five nights a week), and he moved to his own weekly prime-time show, which ran until 1965.
After Paar's departure, hosting duties were filled by Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...
, Mort Sahl
Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social Satire, satirist, considered the first modern comedian. He pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current e ...
, and many others. Johnny Carson took over as host of ''The Tonight Show'' in 1962 and the show was renamed ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
''. Carson streamlined the format of the show, focusing more on entertainment personalities, tweaking the monologue to feature shorter jokes, and emphasizing sketch comedy. Ed McMahon
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the American Bro ...
served as Carson's announcer, while from 1962 to 1966, the band was led by Skitch Henderson, who hired, among others, Doc Severinsen
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''.
Early life
Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) ...
. When Henderson left, Milton DeLugg took over. Severinsen assumed the position in 1967 and served as bandleader with the NBC Orchestra. The show originated from NBC Studios in New York City but, as part of Carson's shifting the show toward a more entertainment-oriented program, moved to Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, in 1972.
NBC's two other rivals during the early television era, CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
and ABC, did not attempt any major forays into late-night television until the 1960s. ABC's first effort at the late-night TV race was hosted by Les Crane, which pioneered the controversial tabloid talk show
A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of th ...
format that would not become popular until two decades later. With most viewers not accustomed to the visceral conflict it entailed, Crane's show lasted only six months. Shorter still was ''The Las Vegas Show
''The Las Vegas Show'' is an American late night television program broadcast during the month of May 1967 on the United Network. Hosted by comedian Bill Dana, ''The Las Vegas Show'' was intended to be the flagship of a planned fourth televi ...
'', a Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
-based late-night show hosted by Bill Dana that was the only offering of the United Network that ever made it to air (because that network only had a handful of affiliates, it also syndicated the program to CBS, ABC and independent stations); it, along with the network, only lasted five weeks in summer 1967.
Steve Allen himself returned to NBC late night in syndication twice in this time frame, first with a show that ran from 1962 to 1964 and then with a series that ran from 1968 to 1971. ABC added the ''Joey Bishop
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a Talk ...
'' Show, with Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin ( ; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held th ...
as his sidekick, to its late-night lineup in 1967, employing a talk show format, in an attempt to compete against the ''Tonight Show,'' which lasted until 1969. CBS went without late-night TV (the closest thing it would have to a late-night show was its late-prime-time variety show '' The Danny Kaye Show'' from 1963 to 1967) until 1969, when it acquired ''The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...
'' from syndication; Griffin returned to syndication in 1972, and CBS would not air any further late-night talk shows until 1989, instead opting for reruns, lifestyle programs and, later, imported Canadian dramas in the time slot. By the 1960s, NBC had already cornered the market for late-night television viewing and would dominate the ratings for several decades in the future.
1970s–1980s
A number of restrictions on television networks that took effect in 1971, among them a nationwide prohibition on tobacco advertising
Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco pr ...
, the requirement that a portion of prime time be set aside for local stations, and rules prohibiting networks from also acting as syndicators, prompted NBC to extend its broadcast day by an additional hour with programming it hoped would recuperate some of its lost revenue.[Tom Snyder on ''Later'', 1994](_blank)
/ref> In 1973, NBC launched two new programs: a concert series, '' The Midnight Special,'' that aired Friday nights, and a low-cost talk show, ''The Tomorrow Show
''The Tomorrow Show'' (also known as ''Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'' or ''Tomorrow'' and, after 1980, ''Tomorrow Coast to Coast'') is an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder that aired on NBC in first-run form from October ...
,'' hosted by Tom Snyder
Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on NBC in the 1970s and 1980s, and '' The Late Late Show'' ...
, that aired Mondays through Thursdays. Both shows aired immediately following Carson's ''Tonight Show'' at 1:00 a.m. ET. ''Tomorrow'' was different from ''The Tonight Show''. For instance, the show originally featured no studio audience, while Snyder would conduct one-on-one interviews (Snyder's guest list was often more eclectic and would sometimes include the intellectuals and cultural and artistic figures that Carson had long since abandoned) with a cigarette in hand. Carson's new contract in 1980 allowed him to cut the length of his show from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, and for a short time, ''Tomorrow'' was moved to an earlier timeslot, to fill the time gap left by Carson's move. NBC felt that Snyder's more conversational style would not bring in enough viewership in the earlier time slot, forcibly changed the show's format to resemble Carson's, and added gossip reporter Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett (born Rona Burstein, October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizen ...
as a co-host. The two did not get along and had an acrimonious relationship on and off the air. The agreement gave Carson's production company ownership of the timeslot following ''Tonight'', which, a year later, Carson Productions and NBC used to create ''Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...
''. When NBC offered Snyder the time slot after Letterman, he refused it, having always been resentful of the forced change in format, and '' NBC News Overnight'', a newscast, took the slot instead, some months after ''Tomorrow's'' final broadcast in 1982.
During his tenure as host of ''The Tonight Show'', Carson became known as ''The King of Late Night''. While numerous hosts (Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...
and Dick Cavett
Richard Alva Cavett (; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s.
In later years, Cave ...
being the best-known) attempted to compete with Carson, none was ever successful in drawing more viewers than Carson did on ''Tonight'', not even ABC's short-lived revival of Paar's show in 1973 using the name ''Jack Paar Tonite'' (though Paar blamed erratic scheduling and his own unwillingness to succeed at the expense of Cavett, his friend and former writer). Much like Paar, Carson became tired of fulfilling the workload of 525 minutes a week, so ''The Tonight Show'' was shortened to 90 minutes and again to 60 minutes in 1980 with 15 weeks of vacation a year. Because of a lack of competition, Carson was free to take time off (by 1980, he was only hosting three new shows a week) and have guest hosts on the show on a weekly basis, and for weeks at a time when Carson was on vacation, including Joey Bishop
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a Talk ...
(a former competitor of his), Joan Rivers
Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...
, David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
, Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in ...
, Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...
, David Brenner
David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of observ ...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
.
In his final years, Carson produced new shows only three nights a week with guest hosts and "Best of Carson" reruns the other two nights. From 1983 to 1986, Rivers and Brenner served as Carson's permanent guest hosts. Many in 1986, including top executives at NBC, thought it was possible that Johnny Carson would retire after reaching his 25th anniversary on October 1, 1987, as it was such a logical cut-off point. In the spring of 1986, a confidential memo, between top NBC executives listing about ten possible replacements in the event of Carson's retirement the next year, was leaked. When Rivers saw it, she was shocked to see that she was nowhere on the list despite the fact that she had been ''The Tonight Shows permanent guest host since 1983. In 1986, Joan Rivers joined the brand-new Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
network, where she would host her own late-night talk show, '' The Late Show,'' which competed directly against ''The Tonight Show''. Clint Holmes
Clinton Raymond Holmes (born 9 May 1946) is a British-born singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer, and TV announcer. He had a hit single in the US with " Playground in My Mind".
Bio
He was born in Bournemouth, England, the son of an Afri ...
served as Rivers' announcer while Mark Hudson served as band leader. Carson was incensed that Rivers did not consult him beforehand and never spoke to her again.
Brenner also left ''Tonight'' in 1986, although he did so amicably, to launch a syndicated 30-minute late-night talk show called ''Nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
,'' which was canceled after one season.
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling (November 29, 1949 – March 24, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer.
Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as '' Sanford and Son'' and ''Welcome Back, Kotter''. He made a ...
, who had been a frequent guest host in the early 1980s, served as permanent guest host, alternating with Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
, from 1986 to 1987, when he left to focus on his cable show, leaving Leno to be Carson's sole guest host.
In June 1987, the very successful ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC expanded from four to five nights per week, displacing the four-year-old ''Friday Night Videos
''Friday Night Videos'' is an American music video/variety show, variety program that aired from July 29, 1983, to May 24, 2002, on NBC. Originally developed as an attempt by the network to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos, ...
'' to the timeslot following it. ''FNV,'' which had several subsequent format changes, ran until 2002.
Carson did not retire in 1987, instead continuing as host until 1992 with Leno as sole permanent guest host. Rivers was fired from ''The Late Show'' in 1987 after abysmal ratings and a battle with network executives, leading to her being replaced by Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted a late-night talk show, '' The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014.
He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Comi ...
. Hall performed extremely well among viewers in the 18–49 demographic; however, Fox had already greenlit '' The Wilton North Report'' to replace ''The Late Show'', leading to Hall hosting his own late-night talk show in syndication after ''The Late Show'' was canceled in 1988. ''The Late Show'' continued with several unknown hosts until its cancellation. Hall's syndicated show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show
''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall.
There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...
'', began in syndication in 1988, becoming more popular among younger viewers than Carson. The last network attempt at a Carson competitor, CBS's ''The Pat Sajak Show
''The Pat Sajak Show'' is an American late-night television talk show that aired on CBS from January 9, 1989, to April 13, 1990.
Cast
The show was hosted by Pat Sajak, best known as host of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune''. To do the talk ...
'', lasted less than 16 months, debuting in 1989 and being canceled in 1990. ABC opted not to compete against Carson with a late-night talk show; in 1980, it produced a pilot of a Richard Dawson-hosted show called '' Bizarre'' (it instead went to series on Showtime with John Byner as host) and, for two years, carried the weekly sketch comedy series '' Fridays''. ABC instead counterprogrammed Carson with a successful news magazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...
entitled ''Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
,'' beginning in 1980.
Beginning on August 22, 1988, NBC concluded its main programming for the day with a half-hour entry, ''Later
Later may refer to:
* Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the futur ...
,'' hosted by NBC sportscaster Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from ...
and airing at 1:35 a.m. Eastern, after Letterman, Mondays through Thursdays. It originated from 30 Rockefeller Plaza
30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...
in New York and bore a strong resemblance to an earlier NBC late-night favorite, Tom Snyder's ''Tomorrow,'' due to its lack of the typical late-night trappings in favor of a low-key but intense concentration upon Costas interviewing a single guest. Costas hosted the program until 1994.
1992–2009
Carson retired as host of ''The Tonight Show'' in 1992 following his 30th anniversary as host. This garnered major media attention and speculation on who would replace Carson. The two candidates were David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
(host of '' Late Night'' since 1982) and Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
(Carson's regular guest host since 1987). Leno was eventually chosen, leading to Letterman leaving the network for CBS to launch the direct competitor ''Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' in 1993. ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
'' debuted in 1992. Letterman was replaced by newcomer Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
as host of ''Late Night''. Arsenio Hall's show lost numerous affiliates after Letterman's debut and his show was canceled one year later. Fox returned to late-night television in September 1993 with '' The Chevy Chase Show''. However, due to sagging ratings, disastrous reviews and Chase's embitterment at not being allowed to do the show according to his preferences, the show was canceled the following month. On NBC's ''Later,'' Bob Costas gave way to the host of the cable show ''Talk Soup
''Talk Soup'' is a television show produced for cable network E! that debuted on January 7, 1991, and aired until August 2002. ''Talk Soup'' aired selected clips of the previous day's daily talk shows—ranging from daytime entries like ''The ...
,'' Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and former talk show host. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, ...
, whose tenure was accompanied by a move to Burbank and toward a more conventional, audience-and-celebrity-driven format. Kinnear parlayed that experience into a movie career and stayed only two years; he was succeeded by a plethora of fill-in hosts for the next four years. Even MTV entered the late-night contest when it debuted ''The Jon Stewart Show
''The Jon Stewart Show'' is a late night talk show that was hosted by comedian Jon Stewart. The program premiered on MTV in 1993 as a 30-minute daily offering and became one of the network's more popular shows.
Through a series of events that ...
'', hosted by Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
, which ran until 1995.
Letterman initially won the late-night ratings battle but fell behind Leno in 1995; Leno generally remained in first place until first leaving ''Tonight'' in 2009. To combat NBC's ''Late Night'', CBS gave Letterman's studio Worldwide Pants
Worldwide Pants Incorporated is an American television and film production company founded and owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman.
The company was formerly headquartered at the Ed Sullivan Theater building in New York City, bu ...
control of the post-''Late Show'' time slot, and would premiere '' The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder'' in 1995—serving as a spiritual successor to Snyder's ''Tomorrow''. They had originally attempted to lure Bob Costas away from NBC and ''Later'' (offering to have him host ''The Late Late Show'' and become a correspondent for CBS's newsmagazine ''60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
)'', but were unsuccessful due to his desire to stay with NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
, as well as his relationship with NBC chief Dick Ebersol
Duncan Richard Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the ...
. Snyder departed in 1999 and was succeeded by Craig Kilborn
Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American television host, actor, comedian, and sports commentator. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' SportsCenter'' f ...
; at this time, ''The Late Late Show'' switched to a more conventional (albeit lower-budget) format in line with ''Late Show'' and its competitors. Kilborn had previously served as host of ''The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'', a late-night satirical news program on Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
, and upon Kilborn's departure, Jon Stewart replaced him on that program. Perhaps one of the most unusual late-night hosts to come out of this boom was basketball player and later entrepreneur Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...
, whose syndicated '' The Magic Hour'' was a major flop and effectively ended any future efforts from anyone else at a syndicated late-night talk show at that point in time.
ABC finally re-entered the late-night first-run comedy fray, after an absence of 15 years, in 1997 by placing ''Politically Incorrect
"Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
with Bill Maher
William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...
'' (which had aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
from 1993 to 1996) into its lineup after ''Nightline''. Unlike traditional late-night talk shows, ''Politically Incorrect'' was a half hour in length and (following a brief host monologue) featured a panel of four guests debating topical issues while Maher moderated in a comedic fashion.
With the new millennium in 2000, NBC's ''Later'' finally got another permanent host after various figures had taken the chair for several years, in the form of a VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
personality, Cynthia Garrett, who broke the proverbial "glass ceiling
A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
" by becoming the first African-American female late-night host. Unfortunately, Garrett only lasted a year before NBC canceled the -year-old ''Later'' in favor of reruns of the critically acclaimed cult Canadian-produced sketch comedy series, '' SCTV,'' itself a former NBC late-night program that aired Fridays between 1981 and 1983. That action, a temporary measure, was necessitated by the prolonged development of, and negotiations with a host of, a slated replacement show (see below).
Many late-night talk shows went off the air in the days following the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
of 2001, while their networks aired round-the-clock news coverage. Letterman was the first to return on September 17, addressing the situation in an opening monologue. The show was not presented in its normal jovial manner, and featured Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurrica ...
, Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin ( ; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held th ...
, and a musical performance from Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
. ''Politically Incorrect'' also resumed on September 17 and immediately drew controversy due to remarks Maher and a guest (Dinesh D'Souza
Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an American Right-wing politics, right-wing political commentator, conspiracy theorist, author, and filmmaker. He has made several films and written over a dozen books, several of them The New Y ...
) made concerning the "coward" label given to the terrorists by President George W. Bush. ''The Tonight Show'' returned the following night, featuring John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
and a performance from Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
After NBC's placeholding run of ''SCTV'' at 1:35 a.m. came to an end after a year, the network debuted ''Last Call with Carson Daly
''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...
'' in its place in January 2002; Daly was a former MTV VJ. Four months later, it expanded to five nights a week (from ''Later's'' four), and unlike the other shows on the air at the time, only a half-year's worth of first-run programs were recorded each season. In 2009, ''Last Call'' was retooled with a travelogue-like format, using interviews and performances filmed on-location rather than a traditional studio-based format.
''Politically Incorrect'' was canceled due to low ratings in the summer of 2002, after which Maher joined HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
and began hosting the similarly formatted weekly series '' Real Time''. ABC then tapped Comedy Central personality Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
to host a more traditional late-night program, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
''. From its beginning in 2003 until early 2013, the show aired following ''Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
'' on ABC's late-night lineup. With ''Nightline'' past its prime in audience size due to the proliferation of cable news, and ABC believing in stronger ratings potential in the timeslot, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' was moved to 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on January 8, 2013—placing it in line with its competitors, Letterman and Leno.
On October 17, 2005, Comedy Central premiered ''The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
'', a spin-off of ''The Daily Show'' hosted by regular cast member Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
. The show was structured as a satire of opinion-based cable news
Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television.
In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...
programs, featuring Colbert portraying a narcissistic
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...
reminiscent of Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
hosts such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...
, among other influences.
Jake Sasseville entered the late-night arena after a self-syndication campaign got him clearance on several ABC affiliates by local general managers in 2008. '' The Edge with Jake Sasseville'' aired after ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' in some markets, reaching a total of 35 million homes, despite the network's concerns. The show went off the air in 2010. Another syndicated show that earned significant clearance in the late 2000s was '' Comics Unleashed'', which was produced by Byron Allen
Byron Allen (born Byron Allen Folks on April 22, 1961) is an American businessman, film and television producer, and comedian. He is the founder of the American media company Allen Media Group (formerly Entertainment Studios), which has intere ...
's Entertainment Studios
Allen Media Group, alternately known by its former name of Entertainment Studios, Inc. is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved ...
, and had still been cleared by some stations (such as WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...
and other CBS owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...
s) as late as 2013 without any new episodes having been produced. ''Comics Unleashed'' has largely relied on Allen buying the airtime from CBS and its stations to achieve clearance.
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
native Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for having hosted the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014). He is the winner of ...
succeeded Kilborn as host of ''The Late Late Show'' in 2005, renaming it ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
''. TBS entered the late-night scene in 2009 when it debuted '' Lopez Tonight'', hosted by comedian George Lopez. On September 27, 2004, the 50th anniversary of ''The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
''s debut, NBC announced that Jay Leno would be succeeded by Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
, in 2009. Leno explained that he did not want to cause a repeat of the hard feelings and controversy that occurred when he was picked for the show over David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
following Carson's retirement in 1992. O'Brien's final ''Late Night'' episode was taped on February 20, 2009. ''Saturday Night Live'' alum Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
took over as host of '' Late Night'' on March 2, 2009.
The popularity of late-night shows in the United States has been cited as a key factor in Americans not getting a requisite seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Since 2015, late-night talk shows have competed for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series; prior to then, the genre competed against general variety shows for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series is a category in the Primetime Emmy Awards. It is awarded annually to the best variety show or similarly formatted program of the year. The award is sometimes known by other names, such as � ...
.
2009–present
Jay Leno hosted his final episode of ''The Tonight Show'' on May 29, 2009, with his successor Conan O'Brien, and musician James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
as his guests. O'Brien took over hosting duties on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fifth installment of ''The Tonight Show'', hosted by Conan O'Brien. It aired from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, succeeding ''The ...
'' the following Monday, June 1, 2009.
In September 2009, Leno began hosting a new prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
talk show on NBC, ''The Jay Leno Show
''The Jay Leno Show'' is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009, to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show ''The Tonight Show wit ...
''. It aired on weeknights at 10p.m. ET/PT before late local news and ''The Tonight Show'', and featured sketches and elements carried over from his tenure. The program faced dismal ratings, which also led to complaints from NBC affiliates that it was impacting the viewership of their late local newscasts.
On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that ''The Jay Leno Show'' would be moved to 11:35 p.m. and ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' would be moved from 11:35 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. effective March 1, 2010, the first time in its history that the show would begin after midnight in the Eastern Time Zone.['']Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
'' article:
Jay Leno Heading Back To Late Night, Conan O’Brien Weighing Options
. On January 12, 2010, O'Brien publicly announced in an open letter that he intended to leave NBC if it moved ''The Tonight Show'' to any timeslot after midnight in order to accommodate ''The Jay Leno Show'' at 11:35 p.m. ET. He felt it would damage the show's legacy, as it had always started after the late local news since it began in 1954.
After several days of negotiations, O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that allowed him to leave ''The Tonight Show'' on January 22, 2010, ending his affiliation with NBC after 22 years. Leno began his second tenure as host of ''The Tonight Show'' on March 1, 2010, after the 2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
, but only after major controversy. Leno's second ''Tonight'' iteration was taped at NBC's Studio 11 in Burbank, the former home of ''The Jay Leno Show
''The Jay Leno Show'' is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009, to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show ''The Tonight Show wit ...
'', with a modified version of that show's set. After leaving NBC, O'Brien began hosting his new late night talk show, '' Conan'', on TBS on November 8, 2010, after the non-compete clause in his NBC contract had lapsed.
In March 2013, news broke that NBC was expected to part ways with Leno for good after his contract expired in 2014, clearing the way for Fallon (whose tenure at ''Late Night'' had found success with a young, culturally savvy audience that was very desirable to advertisers) to take over ''The Tonight Show'' beginning that year, which also marked the 60th anniversary of the franchise. NBC confirmed the change on April 3, 2013. Under Fallon, the show returned to New York City, where the show originated from its 1954 debut until 1972; NBC no longer owns the former company-owned studios in Burbank where Carson and Leno's programs originated (O'Brien's ''Tonight Show'' taped at nearby Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to:
* Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate
** Universal Pictures, an American film studio
** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex
* Various theme parks operat ...
). On May 13, 2013, it was announced that Fallon's former ''SNL'' castmate Seth Meyers
Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, television host, writer, actor, and producer. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to hosting Late Night, he was a cast member on NBC's ...
would assume the duties of ''Late Night'' once Fallon moved to ''The Tonight Show''. ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'' debuted during NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics in Russia on February 17, 2014, while ''Late Night with Seth Meyers
''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...
'' debuted one week later.
2014 and 2015 saw a realignment to CBS's late night lineup: in April 2014, Craig Ferguson announced that he would leave ''The Late Late Show'' at the end of the year. On September 8, 2014, British actor and comedian James Corden
James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...
was announced as the new host of ''The Late Late Show''. His incarnation of the program was modelled more upon British chat shows such as ''The Graham Norton Show
''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...
'', de-emphasizing the monologue and relying on multiple guests present throughout the entire show (rather than interviewed individually). Meanwhile, in May 2015, David Letterman retired from ''Late Show,'' ending a 33-year career on late-night TV, and was succeeded the following September by Stephen Colbert—who departed from Comedy Central and ''The Colbert Report'' to host the program. On August 6, 2015, Jon Stewart also retired from ''The Daily Show'' (being succeeded by fellow cast member and South African comedian Trevor Noah), joining ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'' as an executive producer and occasional contributor.
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' achieved critical and ratings successes for its satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
of the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign and the presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
; following the 2018–19 television season, it was the highest-rated late-night talk show overall for the third season in a row, and narrowly beat ''The Tonight Show'' in key demographic (18-to-49-year-old) viewership for the first time since 1994–95.
On February 12, 2019, NBC announced that ''Last Call with Carson Daly
''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...
'' would conclude after its 2000th and final episode. Daly had already reduced his role on the program in 2013 due to his commitments to the ''Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'' and other projects. On September 16, 2019, NBC premiered ''A Little Late with Lilly Singh
''A Little Late with Lilly Singh'' is an American late-night talk show that was broadcast by NBC. Premiering on September 16, 2019, and hosted by Canadian comedian and internet celebrity Lilly Singh, it succeeded ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' ...
''—a new talk show hosted by Indian-Canadian YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
r Lilly Singh
Lilly Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTuber, television host, comedian and author. She began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman (stylized IISuperwomanII), her YouTube username ...
. She became the first openly bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
person and the first person of Indian descent to host a U.S. late-night talk show.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, nearly all U.S. late-night talk shows were forced to impose major changes to their formats in March 2020 due to public health orders and restrictions on gatherings. They initially adopted formats produced remotely from their hosts' homes, with all guests appearing via videoconferencing
Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...
. By July 2020, late-night shows began to migrate back to studio-based productions, but with reconfigured or different studios than normal with no audience, and continued use of remote interviews. By October 2021, all late night TV shows (with the exception of ''The Daily Show,'' which opted to continue without an audience as a stylistic choice) had full audiences return to their studio.
One of the few programs initially unaffected by COVID-19 restrictions was ''A Little Late'', as it had already filmed the entirety of its first season in 2019. The program shifted to a home-based production for its second season in January 2021, with Singh citing both the pandemic and a creative preference against a traditional studio-based format. Singh opted not to continue ''A Little Late'' beyond 2021, and NBC returned the time slot to its affiliates. ''Conan'' concluded its run on June 24, 2021, with O'Brien having announced plans to produce a weekly "variety" show for HBO Max
Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...
and focus on other digital media projects.
On January 17, 2023, it was announced that Craig Ferguson would make a return to late-night television with a new syndicated program from Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
, ''Channel Surf with Craig Ferguson''; as opposed to ''The Late Late Show'' and other late-night shows, the program was pitched as having a specific focus on television as a topic, and air in a half-hour timeslot.
James Corden hosted his final episode of ''The Late Late Show'' on April 27, 2023, in a departure that was first announced a year prior. It was reported that CBS was reconsidering the future of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise in favor of lower-cost formats; in November 2023, the network officially announced that it would premiere a Taylor Tomlinson-hosted revival of ''@midnight
''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') is an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
''—a comedy panel show
A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
previously aired by corporate sibling Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
from 2013 through 2017—as a replacement in 2024. Its development and premiere had been delayed due to the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. CBS filled the ''Late Late Show'' timeslot with reruns and previously-unaired episodes of ''Comics Unleashed''. The revival, titled '' @fter Midnight'', premiered on January 16, 2024. Tomlinson announced her resignation in March 2025, after which CBS discontinued programming the time slot once the last episodes aired in June and sold the airtime to Byron Allen, who promptly returned the time slot to ''Comics Unleashed.''
Late-night talk show viewership had a brief peak in 2016 in the wake of retirements and new hosts but has been in steep decline since then. Conan O'Brien, in a 2023 interview, noted that several factors played into the decline, all of which impacted his decision to end ''Conan'' and focus on other projects, including a saturated market, the loss of the captive audience
Captive audience may refer to:
Law
* Captive audience meeting, a mandatory meeting used by employers to oppose unionization
* A legal concept in:
** '' Rowan v. United States Post Office Department'', 1970, in which the United States Supreme C ...
to video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
options, and a changing culture that made it more difficult to make genuine fun of the culture (O'Brien, who tended to rely less on political humor than some of his contemporaries, cited Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
as an example of a figure so polarizing that even those who do not like him would be repulsed by the mention of him, even in a satirical context, while those who are his fans would be offended). In a 2024 podcast, Jimmy Kimmel admitted that he only agreed to continue ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' because he feared he had no career options if the show were to end, also noting that he anticipated that within the next ten years, the networks would decide that the format was no longer cost-effective and cancel all of the remaining shows: "maybe there'll be one."
List of shows in Asia
Armenia
* '' ArmComedy'' ( ATV; 2012–present)
* ''Late Night with Ara Kazaryan (Ուշ երեկոյան Արա Կազարյան հետ)'' ( Armenia TV; 2015–2016)
* '' Nice Evening (Լավ երեկո)'' ( Armenia 1; October 27, 2017 – December 31, 2019)
* ''Evening Azoyan (Երեկոյան Ազոյան)'' ( Armenia TV; March 24 – June 9, 2018)
* ''Garik's Evening (Գարիկի Երեկոն)'' ( Armenia TV; March 6 – May 16, 2021)
Azerbaijan
* ''5-to-5 (5-də-5)'' (Khazar TV; 2012–2020)
* ''Against the good with Ilgar (Xeyrə qarşı)'' (Azad Azerbaijan TV
Azad Azerbaijan TV (), also known by its acronym ATV, is an Azerbaijani privately-owned national terrestrial television channel. It is owned by the Azad Azerbaijan Independent Teleradio Company. ATV began broadcasting on 25 December 2000, and is he ...
; 2015–2017)
* ''Fateh's divan (Fatehin divanı)'' (İctimai Television
İctimai Television (İTV; , ) is a public television channel in Azerbaijan. After its legal creation in 2004, the station began broadcasting on 29 August 2005, making it the first independent public broadcaster in Azerbaijan. The channel is bas ...
; 2019–2022)
* ''1aztv'' ( AzTV; 2019–present)
* ''True news from Feli (Fəlidən doğru xəbər)'' (Khazar TV; 2020–present)
*''Saturday evening (Şənbə axşamı)'' (İctimai Television
İctimai Television (İTV; , ) is a public television channel in Azerbaijan. After its legal creation in 2004, the station began broadcasting on 29 August 2005, making it the first independent public broadcaster in Azerbaijan. The channel is bas ...
; 2022–present)
Georgia
* Vano's Show (ვანოს შოუ) ( Rustavi 2; 2007–2019, Mtavari Arkhi; 2019-present) is a Georgian version of the American TV program format that has existed since the 1950s and is extremely successful in the United States.
* Late Show With Giorgi Gabunia (ღამის შოუ გიორგი გაბუნიასთან ერთად) ( Imedi TV; 2018–present)
* Night Show on First Channel (ღამის შოუ პირველზე) ( First Channel; 2019–present)
* Late Show (გვიანი შოუ) (Rustavi 2; 2019)
Hong Kong
* Sze U Tonight (今晚睇李) (TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
; 2015)
India
*'' Movers & Shakers'' (Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (abbreviated as SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel that was launched in 1995 and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures.
History
This chann ...
; 1997 – 2012)
* ''Koffee with Karan
''Koffee with Karan'' is an Indian talk show hosted by filmmaker and television personality Karan Johar and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital content division of Johar's production company Dharma Productions. It debuted on 19 No ...
'' (Star One
Star One was an Indian pay television channel based in Mumbai and owned by Star TV, with worldwide distribution handled by Fox International Channels. Launched on 1 November 2004, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky in November 2006.
Sta ...
; 2004 – 2019)
* '' Comedy Circus'' (Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (abbreviated as SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel that was launched in 1995 and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures.
History
This chann ...
; 2007–2018)
* '' Comedy Nights with Kapil'' (Colors TV
Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...
; 2013–2016)
* '' The Anupam Kher Show – Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai'' (Colors TV; 2014–2015)
* '' The Late Night Show – Jitna Rangeen Utna Sangeen'' (Colors TV; 2014–2014)
* '' Comedy Nights Bachao'' (Colors TV; 2015–2017)
* ''The Kapil Sharma Show
''The Kapil Sharma Show'', also known as TKSS, is an Indian Hindi language stand-up comedy and talk show broadcast by Sony Entertainment Television. Hosted by Kapil Sharma, the first season of the show premiered on 23 April 2016. The series ...
'' (Sony Entertainment Television; 2016 – present)
* '' Comedy Nights Live'' (Colors TV; 2016)
* ''Good Night India'' (Sony Entertainment Television; 2022)
* ''The Thugesh Show By Mahesh Keshwala'' (Thugesh Youtube Channel; 2023)
Indonesia
*''Lepas Malam'' (Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
; 2004–2006)
*''Hitam Putih'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2010–2020)
*''Ini Baru Empat Mata'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2006–2020)
*''Salam Canda'' (RCTI
RCTI (abbreviated from ''Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia'') is an Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, origi ...
; 1992–1996)
*''Angin Malam'' (RCTI
RCTI (abbreviated from ''Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia'') is an Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, origi ...
; 2000–2004)
*''Bincang Bintang'' (RCTI
RCTI (abbreviated from ''Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia'') is an Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, origi ...
; 2004–2007)
*''Buaya Show'' (Indosiar
PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, commonly known as Indosiar, is an Indonesian over-the-air television broadcaster, established on 19 July 1991, with test broadcasts commencing on 18 December 1994, and officially launching on 11 January 1995. It ha ...
; 2012)
*''Selayang Pandang'' (Indosiar
PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, commonly known as Indosiar, is an Indonesian over-the-air television broadcaster, established on 19 July 1991, with test broadcasts commencing on 18 December 1994, and officially launching on 11 January 1995. It ha ...
; 1997–2000)
*''Mel's Update'' (antv
ANTV (abbreviation from Andalas Televisi, stylized antv, alternatively spelled ANteve which was also known as a brand before 2003) is an Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta. It is owned by Visi Media Asia (Viva ...
; 2012–2013)
*''Intermezzo'' ( MNCTV; 2012–2013)
*''Night Project'' ( Sindo TV; 2014–2015)
*''Sebelas Duabelas'' (Kompas TV
PT Cipta Megaswara Televisi, operating as Kompas TV, is an Indonesian private terrestrial television news broadcaster. It is owned by the KG Media unit of Kompas Gramedia Group, and named after its flagship property, the '' Kompas'' daily n ...
; 2014–2015)
*''On The Show'' ( RTV; 2014–2016)
*''Tonight Show'' ( NET.; 2013–present)
*''Baim Kagat Jaim'' ( RTV; 2015)
*''Just Kiding'' ( RTV; 2015)
*''The Rooftop'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2016)
*''Nite Show'' ( Metro TV; 2016)
*''E-Talkshow'' ( tvOne; 2017–present)
*''Ada Show'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2020–2021)
*''Tukul Arwana One Man Show'' (Indosiar
PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, commonly known as Indosiar, is an Indonesian over-the-air television broadcaster, established on 19 July 1991, with test broadcasts commencing on 18 December 1994, and officially launching on 11 January 1995. It ha ...
; 2020–2021)
*''The Sultan'' ( SCTV; 2020–2021)
*''Master Show'' ( RTV; 2020–2022)
*''OOTD (Obrolan of the Day)'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2020–2021)
*''The Sultan Entertainment'' ( SCTV; 2021–2022)
*''Dewan Curhat'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2021–2022)
*''TRIG3RR'' (Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
; 2022)
*''Talksik'' (Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
; 2022)
*''Lunite'' ( RTV; 2022)
*''Sweet Daddy'' (Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
; 2022–present)
*''Heart Of Heart'' (Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
; 2022–present)
*''The Sultan Empire'' ( SCTV; 2022–present)
Iran
* A Few Saturdays with Sina (چندشنبه با سینا) ( MBC Persia; 2013–present)
* Khandevane (خندوانه) ( IRIB Nasim; 2014–present)
* Dorehami (دورهمی) (IRIB Nasim; 2016–present)
* Mutual Friendship (همرفیق "Hamrafigh") (Namava; 2020–present)
*Shab Ahangi
Iraq
*The night with Dadosh (اللية ويه دعدوش) ( MBC Iraq; 2019–present)
Israel
*''Haiom balila with Guri Alfi (היום בלילה עם גורי אלפי)'' ( Channel 2; 30 December 2015 – 2018)
Kazakhstan
*''Night studio (Túngi studio)'' ( Qazaqstan; 2013–2019)
*''New night studio'' (Жаңа түнгі студия) ( Jibek joly; 2022–present)
Philippines
* '' The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.'' (The Somehow Late Night Show with Jojo A.) ( RJTV; 2005–2007, Q; 2007–2009, TV5; 2009–2013, 2015; GMA; 2014–2017, PTV; 2018, RJDigiTV; 2020–Present)
* '' Tonight with Arnold Clavio'' (GMA News TV
GMA News TV (GNTV; visually rendered in uppercase in its logo) is a 24-hour Philippine-based international pay television channel owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GMA Network Inc. It was ...
; 2011–2020, Q; 2010–2011)
* ''Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman
''with the Master Showman'' (; formerly known as ''Master Showman Presents'') is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally hosted by German Moreno, along with John Nite, Shermaine Santiago, Jackie Lou Blanco ...
'' (No Sleeping with the Master Showman) ( GMA; 1997–2016)
* ''The Tim Yap Show
Timothy Brian Yap (born January 17, 1977) is a Filipino TV and radio host, actor, newspaper editor, creative director, and columnist from Metro Manila, Manila, Philippines. He also owns several clubs in the Philippines. He currently hosts ''The ...
'' ( GMA; 2013–2015)
*'' Martin Late at Night'' (ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
; March 1–May 31, 2013)
*'' Martin After Dark'' ( GMA; 1988–1993, ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
; 1993–1998)
*'' Gandang Gabi Vice'' (Good Evening Vice) (ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
; May 22, 2011 – April 12, 2020)
*'' Tonight with Boy Abunda'' (ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
; September 28, 2015 – May 4, 2020)
*'' The Boobay and Tekla Show'' ( GMA; January 27, 2019 – present)
*''PIE Night Long'' ( PIE Channel; 2022)
*''The SPG Show'' ( PIE Channel; 2023)
South Korea
* '' SNL (Saturday Night Live)'' ( tvN; 2011–present)
* ''Journalism Talk Show J'' (KBS1
KBS 1TV is a South Korean free-to-air television channel that launched on 31 December 1961 and is owned by Korean Broadcasting System. The channel offers more serious programming than its sister channel KBS2, and airs with no commercials.
Hi ...
; June 2018 – present)
Tajikistan
*''Tonight'' ''(Имшаб)'' ( Tajikistan TV; 2015–present)
Thailand
*''Tonight's the Night'' ( Channel 3 (Thailand); premiered on March 5, 2016)
* The Daily Show ( Channel 7 HD)
* Talk Ka-thoey Tonight ( GMMTV)
Uzbekistan
* ''MTV Show''
Milliy TV
September, 2016–present)
Vietnam
*''Cuộc hẹn cuối tuần'' ( VTV3; 2021–present)
List of shows in Africa
South Africa
* '' WtfTumi'' on SABC 3
* ''TRENDING SA'' on SABC 3
Algeria
* ''Le Grand Sbitar'' (literal translation: ''The Grand Hospital'') on Nessma then Echourouk TV; 2013–2016
Kenya
* ''The Trend'' on NTV
Madagascar
* '' Takariva mafana an'i Mija Rasolo '' (2014–present)
Morocco
* ''Rachid Show'' on 2M TV (2013–present) Host: Rachid Allali
Nigeria
* ''Highlites with IK'' on Africa Magic Showcase (2014 – 2017) Host: IK Osakioduwa
- DRC (Congo)
Le #ChezfrancisKakondeshow on Antenne A Monday/Wednesday and Friday at 23h30 (20th season) since 2003–2023
Host: Francis Kakonde
List of shows in the Americas
Brazil
*'' Jô Soares Onze e Meia'' ( SBT; 1988–1999)
*'' Programa do Jô'' (Rede Globo
TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
; 2000–2016)
*'' Agora É Tarde com Danilo Gentili'' ( Band; 2011–2013)
**'' Agora É Tarde'', hosted by Rafinha Bastos ( Band; 2014–2015)
*'' Luciana by Night'', hosted by Luciana Gimenez (RedeTV!
RedeTV! (, also Rede TV! or RTV! or TV Ômega) is a Brazilian television network owned by Amilcare Dallevo and Marcelo de Carvalho. It is the newest television network, among the five major networks in Brazil, being a relaunch of Rede Manchete ...
; 2012–2021)
*'' The Noite com Danilo Gentili'' ( SBT; 2014–present)
*'' Programa do Porchat'' (RecordTV
Record (stylized in uppercase; ), formerly known as Rede Record and RecordTV, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In ...
; 2016–2018)
*'' Lady Night'', hosted by Tatá Werneck
Talita Werneck Arguelhes (; ; born August 11, 1983), better known as Tatá Werneck, is a Brazilians, Brazilian TV Presenter, presenter, actress, comedian, musician, voice actress, screenwriter and reporter. She began her acting studies at just ...
(Multishow
Multishow is an entertainment channel owned by Canais Globo, Grupo Globo's cable and satellite television channel operator. It was launched in 1991, as one of the company's first four channels (with Telecine, Top Sport – now SporTV – and GNT ...
; 2017–present)
*'' Conversa com Bial'' (TV Globo
TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...
; 2017–present) (GNT
GNT is a Brazilian pay television channel. Originally launched as GNT: Globosat News Television, a news and information network. With the launch of GloboNews, in 1996, the GNT acronym became meaningless, and the channel was focused on documentar ...
; 2024–present)
*'' Greg News com Gregório Duvivier'' (HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
; 2017–2023)
*''Que História é Essa, Porchat?'' (GNT
GNT is a Brazilian pay television channel. Originally launched as GNT: Globosat News Television, a news and information network. With the launch of GloboNews, in 1996, the GNT acronym became meaningless, and the channel was focused on documentar ...
; 2019–present)
Canada
*'' The Hour/George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight'' (CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
; 2009–2012, primetime from 2005 to 2009 and 2012 to 2014)
*'' Ed & Red's Night Party'' (Citytv
Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...
; 1995–2008)
*''The Mike Bullard Show
''The Mike Bullard Show'' is a Canadian late-night talk show which aired weeknights at 12:05 AM on Global from November 24, 2003, to March 11, 2004. The show was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and taped at the Global Television Theatre in Toron ...
'' (Global
Global may refer to:
General
*Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies
*Earth, the third planet from the Sun
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...
; 2003–2004)
*''Open Mike with Mike Bullard
''Open Mike with Mike Bullard'' is a Canadian late-night talk show which was broadcast on The Comedy Network 1997 to 2003 and also aired on the full CTV Television Network beginning in 1998. For a time it overtook ''The Tonight Show with Jay Le ...
'' ( CTV; 1997–2003)
*'' Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui'' (CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
; 1993, primetime from 1992 to 1993)
*'' Canada After Dark'' with Paul Soles (CBC; 1978–79)
*'' Nightcap'' (CBC; 1963–67)
*'' Charlie Had One But He Didn't Like It, So He Gave It To Us'' (CBC; 1966)
*'' 90 Minutes Live'' with Peter Gzowski
Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...
(CBC; 1976–1978)
*'' It's Only Rock & Roll'' (CBC; 1987)
*'' The Being Frank Show'' ( CHCH; 2010–present)
*'' Le Grand Blond avec un show sournois'' with Marc Labrèche (TVA; 2001–2003)
*''La Fin du monde est à 7 heures
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
'' with Marc Labrèche (TQS; 1997–2000)
*''En mode Salvail'' with Eric Salvail ( V; 2013–2017)
*''Le Ti-Mé show'' with Ti-Mé Paré (Ici Radio-Canada Télé
Ici Radio-Canada Télé (stylized as ICI Radio-Canada Télé, and sometimes abbreviated as Ici Télé) is a Television in Canada, Canadian Canadian French, French-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by the Can ...
; 2014–2016)
*''Le Show de Rousseau'' with Stéphane Rousseau ( V; 2018)
*''La semaine des 4 Julie'' with Julie Snyder ( V; 2020)
Colombia
*'' Yo, José Gabriel'' with José Gabriel Ortiz ( RCN; 1998-2007 and 2019–present) ( Caracol 2010-2011)
*'' The Suso's Show'' with Dany Alejandro Hoyos ( Caracol; 2009–present)
United States
List of shows in Australia
* ''Tonight Live with Steve Vizard
''Tonight Live with Steve Vizard'' was a nightly Australian comedy chat show broadcast on Seven Network in Australia, featuring live musical performances.
Synopsis
''Tonight Live'' was an hourlong studio-based programme broadcast nationally fi ...
'' (1990–1993)
* ''The Late Show'' (1992–1993)
* '' Rove'' (1999–2009)
List of shows in Europe
Albania
*'' Xing me Ermalin'' (Tv Klan
Televizioni Klan, also shortened to TV Klan, is an Albanian private television network with national coverage, based in Tirana, Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is lo ...
, 2016–present)
*'' 6 dite pa Ermalin'' ( Top Channel, 2014–2016)
Austria
*''Willkommen Österreich'' with Stermann & Grissemann ( ORF 1; 2007–present)
*''Gute Nacht Österreich'' with Peter Klien ( ORF 1; 2019–present)
*''Bussi Fussi'' with Rudi Fussi ( Puls 24; 2020–present)
Belarus
*''Макаёнка, 9'' ( Belarus–1; 2018–present)
Belgium
* ''Gert Late Night'' ( VIER, 2017–present)
* ''Le Dan Late Show'' (La Deux
Tipik is a Belgian national television channel, owned and operated by the French-language public-service broadcasting organization RTBF.
History From RTbis to Télé 2
On March 26, 1977, RTB launched a second television channel called RTBis, wh ...
, 2014–2016)
* ''De Laatste Show'' ( Eén, 1999–2012)
Bulgaria
* ''Slavi's Show'' ( bTV, 2000–2019)
* ''Azis's Evening show'' (TV2: 2007–2009, PRO.BG: 2009–2010)
* ''Ivan & Andrey's Show'' ( Nova TV, 2009–2011)
* ''Of stubborn'' (TV7, Nova TV, 2010–2011)
* ''bTV's Late Show'' ( bTV, 2017)
* ''Mavrikov's Show'' (Eurocom, 2018–present)
* ''Slavi Trifonov's Evening show'' ( 7/8 TV, 2019–present)
* ''Saturday Night with Donny'' (BNT 1
BNT 1 () is a Bulgarian language, Bulgarian-language public television, public television station founded in 1959. The headquarters are located in Sofia, Bulgaria. BNT 1 is run by Bulgarian National Television.
History
First trial broadcasts beg ...
, 2020)
* ''Nikolaos Tsitiridis' Show'' ( bTV, 2020–2023)
* ''Saturday Night with Mitko Pavlov'' (BNT 1
BNT 1 () is a Bulgarian language, Bulgarian-language public television, public television station founded in 1959. The headquarters are located in Sofia, Bulgaria. BNT 1 is run by Bulgarian National Television.
History
First trial broadcasts beg ...
, 2020–2021)
* ''Saturday Night with BNT'' (BNT 1
BNT 1 () is a Bulgarian language, Bulgarian-language public television, public television station founded in 1959. The headquarters are located in Sofia, Bulgaria. BNT 1 is run by Bulgarian National Television.
History
First trial broadcasts beg ...
, 2022–2023)
* ''The Evening Show'' (BNT 1
BNT 1 () is a Bulgarian language, Bulgarian-language public television, public television station founded in 1959. The headquarters are located in Sofia, Bulgaria. BNT 1 is run by Bulgarian National Television.
History
First trial broadcasts beg ...
, 2023–present)
Czech Republic
* ''Show Jana Krause'' ( TV Prima; 2010–present)
* ''Uvolněte se, prosím'' (Czech Television
Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953.
H ...
; 2004–2010)
* ''Show Leoše Mareše'' ( TV Prima; 2015)
Finland
*'' Anteeksi kuinka?'' (MTV3
MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
, 1993–1996)
*''Joonas Nordman Show'' (MTV3
MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
, 2020–present)
France
*''Zen avec Maxime Biaggi et Grimkujow '' (Twitch, 2022–present)
*''Le Late avec Alain Chabat'' (TF1, 2022)
*''On n'est pas couché'' (France 2, 2006–2020)
*''Ce Soir avec Arthur'' (Comédie +, 2010–2012; TF1, 2013–present)
*''La nuit nous appartient'' (NRJ 12;Comédie +, 2009–2012)
*''La Méthode Cauet'' (TF1; 2003–2008)
*''Claudy Show'' (France Ô; 2013–present)
Germany
*''Schmidteinander'' ( WDR: 1990–1993; Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
: 1994)
*''Gottschalk Late Night'' ( RTL: 1992–1995)
*''RTL Nachtshow'' (RTL: 1994–1995)
*'' Harald Schmidt Show'' ( Sat.1: 1995–2003, 2011–2012; Sky Atlantic HD, Sky Hits HD: 2012–2014), ''Harald Schmidt
Harald Franz Schmidt (born 18 August 1957) is a German actor, comedian, television presenter and writer best known as the host of two popular German late-night shows.
Early and private life
A son of refugees who fled from Sudetenland (now Cz ...
'' (Das Erste: 2004–2007, 2009–2011)
*''Late Lounge'' ( hr: 1999–2005), ''Late Lounge Club'' (hr: 2005–2006)
*''TV Total
''TV total'' is a German late-night television comedy talk show which originally aired from 8 March 1999 to 16 December 2015 on ProSieben, hosted, created and produced by entertainer Stefan Raab. Following a six-year hiatus, it was revived on 1 ...
'' (ProSieben
ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
: 1999–2015, 2021–present)
*''SWR3 Ring frei!'' ( SWR: 2003–2007), ''SWR3 latenight'' (SWR: 2007–2015), ''Die Pierre M. Krause Show'' (SWR: 2016–present)
*'' Anke Late Night'' (Sat.1: 2004)
*'' Sarah Kuttner – Die Show'' ( VIVA: 2004–2005), ''Kuttner'' (MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
: 2005–2006)
*'' Schmidt & Pocher'' (Das Erste: 2007–2009)
*''Inas Nacht'' ( NDR: 2007–2009; Das Erste: 2009–present)
*''Die Kurt Krömer Show'' ( rbb: 2003–2005), ''Krömer – Die Internationale Show'' (rbb: 2007–2011), ''Krömer – Late Night Show'' (Das Erste: 2012–2014)
*''Die Oliver Pocher Show'' (Sat.1: 2009–2011)
*''MTV Home'' (MTV: 2009–2011)
*'' Heute-show'' (ZDF
ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
: 2009–present)
*''Stuckrad–Barre'' (ZDFneo: 2010–2012; Tele 5
TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel that primarily broadcasts classic American films, science fiction series and anime. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery International. ...
: 2012–2013)
*''NeoParadise'' (ZDFneo
ZDFneo is a German free-to-air television channel, programmed for an audience aged 25 to 49 to complement the primarily older-skewing main channels of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. It replaced ZDF's documentary channel ZDFdokukanal on 1 N ...
: 2011–2013)
*''Circus HalliGalli'' (ProSieben: 2013–2017)
*''Neo Magazin'' (ZDFneo: 2013–2014), '' Neo Magazin Royale'' (ZDFneo, ZDF: 2015–2019), ''ZDF Magazin Royale'' (ZDF: 2020–present)
*''Geht's noch?! Kayas Woche'' (RTL: 2014–2015)
*''Promi Big Brother – Late Night Live'' ( sixx: 2014), ''Promi Big Brother – Die Late Night Show'' (sixx: 2015–2016)
*''Der Klügere kippt nach'' (Tele 5: 2015)
*''Luke! Die Woche und ich'' (Sat.1: 2015–2020)
*''Boomarama Late Night'' (Tele 5: 2015–2016), ''Boomarama 3000'' (Tele 5: 2017–present)
*''Ringlstetter'' ( BR: 2016–present)
*''Late Night Berlin'' (ProSieben: 2018–present)
Greece
*''Radio Arvyla'' (ANT1, 2008–2018, Skai TV, 2019, Open TV, 2021–present)
*''Ellinofreneia'' (Skai TV, 2008–2011; Alpha TV, 2013–2017)
*''Al Tsantiri News'' (Alpha TV, 2004–2016; Open TV, 2019–present)
*''A.M.A.N. (TV series), A.M.A.N.'' (Mega Channel, 1996–1997; ANT1, 1997–2000), ''A.M.A.N. Ta Katharmata ''(ANT1, 2000–2007)
*''Comfusio'' (ERT3, 1993–1994; Star Channel (Greece), Star Channel, 1994–1996)
*The 2Night Show (ANT1, 2015–present)
Hungary
*''Heti dörgés'' with Géza Villám (Comedy Central (Hungarian TV channel), Comedy Central, 2019)
*''Frizbi'' with Péter Hajdú
**ATV (Hungary), ATV, 2006–2008, 2016–2018 as ''Esti Frizbi''
**Story TV, 2009 as ''Esti Frizbi''
**TV2 (Hungary), TV2, 2010–2016 as ''Frizbi''
**LifeTV, 2021–2022 as ''Frizbi''
**YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, 2022–present as ''Frizbi''
*''Fábry'' (M1 (TV channel), M1, 2012–2015; Duna TV, 2015–present)
*''Heti Hetes'' (RTL Klub, 1999–2012; RTL2 (Hungary), RTL2, 2012–2016)
*''Showtime'' with Péter Hajdú (TV2 (Hungary), TV2, 2016)
*''Kasza!'' (Super TV2, 2013–2014; TV2 (Hungary), TV2, 2015)
*''Esti Showder'' with Sándor Fábry (M1 (TV channel), M1, 1998; RTL Klub, 1999–2011)
*''Light Night'' with László Lovász (Prizma TV, 2011)
*''Késő este'' with András Hajós (Viasat 3, 2004)
*''Magánszám'' with András Hajós (TV2 (Hungary), TV2, 2003)
*''Boros-Bochkor Show'' (TV2 (Hungary), TV2, 2001–2002)
*''Friderikusz Show'' (M1 (TV channel), M1, 1992–1997)
Ireland
*''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show'' (RTÉ; 1962–present)
*The Tommy Tiernan Show (RTÉ; 2017–present)
*''Saturday Night with Miriam'' (RTÉ; 2005–present)
*''The Ray D'Arcy Show'' (RTÉ; 2015–present)
*''The Saturday Night Show'' (RTÉ; 2010–2015)
*''Kenny Live'' (RTÉ; 1988–1999)
*''Good Grief Moncrieff!'' (RTÉ; 1996)
*''Kennedy (talk show), Kennedy'' (RTÉ; 1997)
*''Tubridy Tonight'' (RTÉ; 2004–2009)
*''Tonight with Craig Doyle'' (RTÉ; 2010)
Italy
* ''E poi c'è Cattelan'' (Sky Uno; 2014–2020), ''Stasera c'è Cattelan'' (Rai 2; 2022–present)
* ''Gazebo'' (Rai 3; 2013–2017)
* ''Victor Victoria – niente è come sembra'' (La7; 2009–2010)
* ''Che tempo che fa'' (Rai 3, Rai 1, Rai 2, Nove (TV channel), Nove; 2003–present)
* ''Satyricon'' (Rai 2; 2001)
* ''Maurizio Costanzo Show'' (Rete 4-Canale 5; 1982–2009;2015–2022)
* ''Porta a Porta, Porta a porta'' (Rai 1; 1996–present)
Latvia
* ''Evening with Renārs Zeltiņš'' (''Vakars ar Renāru Zeltiņu''; LTV1; 17 October 2014 – 18 December 2015)
* ''Midnight Show at Seven'' (''Pusnakts šovs septiņos''; 7 November 2014–present)
* ''Late Show with Streips'' (''Vēlais ar Streipu''; RīgaTV24, 29 February 2016–present)
Lithuania
*''Gero vakaro šou'' (TV3 (Lithuania); premiered on August 31, 2016)
*'':lt:Laikykitės ten, Laikykitės ten'' (Laisvės TV)
Netherlands
*''Barend & Van Dorp'' (RTL 4; 1990-2005/Tien (TV channel), Talpa; 2005-2006)
*''RTL Late Night'' (RTL 4; 2013–2019)
*''Pauw & Witteman'' (Omroepvereniging VARA, VARA; 2006-2014)
*''De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach'' (VPRO; 2022–2024)
Norway
* '':no:Senkveld med HC og Tommy, Senkveld med HC og Tommy'' – TV 2 (Norway), TV2 (2001–2002)
* '':no:Senkveld med Thomas og Harald, Senkveld med Thomas og Harald'' – TV2 (2003–2018)
* '':no:Senkveld med Stian og Helene, Senkveld med Stian og Helene'' – TV2 (2018–2021)
* '':no:Lindmo, Lindmo'' – NRK (2012–2024)
* ''I kveld med YLVIS, I kveld med Ylvis'' – TVNorge (2011–2016)
* '':no:Først & sist, Først & sist'' – NRK1, NRK (1998–2007) (Skavlans first talk show.)
* '':no:Skavlan, Skavlan'' – NRK/SVT1, SVT/TV2 (2009–2021) (Recorded in Sweden, England and US, broadcast on both Swedish and Norwegian television. The host is Norwegian)
* '':no:Else (talkshow), Else'' – TV 2 (Norway), TV2 (2013-2014)
* '':no:Kåss til kvelds, Kåss til kvelds'' – NRK1, NRK (2020–2023)
* '':no:Else!, Else!'' – TVNorge (2024 – present)
Poland
*''Kuba Wojewódzki (talk show), Kuba Wojewódzki'' (Polsat; 2002–2006; TVN (Poland), TVN: 2006–present)
*''Wieczór z Wampirem'' (RTL 7 (Poland), RTL7; 1997–1999)
*''Wieczór z Jagielskim'' (TVP2; 1999–2001)
*''Szymon Majewski Show'' (TVN (Poland), TVN; 2005–2011)
*''Szymon Na Żywo'' (TVN (Poland), TVN; 2012)
Portugal
* ''5 Para A Meia-Noite'' (RTP1)
Romania
*''Chestiunea Zilei cu Florin Călinescu'' (1998 – 2004) (Pro TV; Tele7ABC)
*''Noaptea Târziu cu Mircea Badea și Oreste'' (1999–2002) (Antena 1 (Romania), Antena 1)
* ''Show de Seară cu Viorel Dragu'' (Comedy Central Extra) (April 3, 2017 – present)
* Starea Nației cu Dragoș Pătraru (Prima TV, PrimaTV)
Russia
*''Good Night'' (''Добрый вечер''; Rossiya 1, RTR (РТР); 1997–1998)
*''Once in the Night'' (''Однажды вечером''; TNT (Russian TV channel), TNT (ТНТ); 1999–2001)
*''Good Night with Maxim'' (''Добрый вечер с Максимом''; Rossiya 1 (Россия 1); 2011)
*''Evening Urgant'' ('':ru:Вечерний Ургант, Вечерний Ургант''; Channel One (Russia), Channel One (Первый канал); April 16, 2012 – February 25, 2022)
*''Nightly Herasimets'' (''Вечерний Герасимец''; TV Rain (Дождь); 2012–2013)
*''Volya’s Show'' (''Шоу Воли''; TNT (Russian TV channel), TNT (ТНТ); April 16, 2023 – present)
Serbia
*''24 minuta sa Zoranom Kesićem'' (2013—present)
*''Veče sa Ivanom Ivanovićem'' (2010–present)
*''Marko Živić Show'' (2007)
*''Oralno doba'' (2007–2008)
*''Fajront Republika'' (2008–2011)
Slovakia
* ''Adela show'' (Markíza; 2010–2012)
* ''Neskoro večer s Petrom Marcinom'' (Jednotka; 2014–present)
Spain
*''La noche se mueve'' (Telemadrid; 1992–1993)
*''Sense titol'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 1995)
*''Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi'' (Telecinco; 1995–1997)
*''La noche prohibida'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 1996)
*''Sense titol 2'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 1996)
*''Efecto F'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 1997)
*''Sense titol, Sense Vacances'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 1997)
*''Crónicas marcianas'' (Telecinco; 1997–2005)
*''La sonrisa del pelícano'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 1997)
*''Sense titol, s/n'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 1998)
*''La cosa nostra'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 1999–2002)
*''La Central'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 2000)
*''Maldita la hora'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 2001)
*''Abierto al anochecer'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 2002)
*''Una altra cosa'' (TV3 (Catalonia), TV3; 2002–2004)
*''UHF'' (Antena 3 (Spanish TV channel), Antena 3; 2004)
*''TNT'' (Telecinco; 2004–2007)
*''Noche sin tregua'' (Comedy Central Spain, Paramount Comedy; 2004–2007)
*''Buenafuente'' (Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3; 2005–2007, laSexta; 2007–2011)
*''La azotea de Wyoming'' (La 1 (Spanish TV channel), La Primera; 2005)
*''Plan C'' (Telecinco; 2005)
*''Ruffus & Navarro'' (La 1 (Spanish TV channel), La Primera; 2005–2006)
*''Noche Hache'' (Cuatro (TV channel), Cuatro; 2005–2008)
*''El Hormiguero'' (Cuatro (TV channel), Cuatro, 2006–2011; Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3, 2011–present)
*''Sabías a lo que venías'' (laSexta; 2007)
*''Sálvame deluxe'' / ''Deluxe'' (Telecinco; 2009–2023)
*''La semana más larga'' (Canal Sur; 2010–2013)
*''UAU!'' (Cuatro (TV channel), Cuatro; 2010)
*''En el aire'' (laSexta; 2013–2015)
*''Se enciende la noche'' (Telecinco; 2013–2014)
*''Hable con ellas'' (Telecinco; 2014–2015; also had a brief prime time run in 2016)
*''Alaska y Segura'' (La 1 (Spanish TV channel), La 1; 2015; also had previous prime time runs on La 2 (Spain), La 2 as ''Torres y Reyes'' and ''Alaska y Coronas'' in 2013–2014)
*''El último mono'' (laSexta; 2015)
*''Late Motiv'' (Canal+ (Spanish TV channel), Canal+/Cero (TV channel), #0; 2016–2021)
*''The Resistance (TV series), La Resistencia'' (Cero (TV channel), #0/Movistar Plus+; 2018–2024)
*''Hoy no se sale'' (Ubeat; 2019–2022)
*''Las que faltaban'' (Cero (TV channel), #0; 2019)
*''Animales nocturnos'' (Telecinco; 2020)
*''Los felices veinte'' (Canal Orange; 2020–2022)
*''Esto es un late'' (Amazon Prime Video via Twitch (service), Twitch; 2021–2022)
*''Late Xou amb Marc Giró'' / ''Late Xou con Marc Giró'' (Televisión Española, TVE Catalunya/La 2 (Spanish TV channel), La 2 and RTVE Play; 2023–present)
Switzerland
*''Night Moor'' with Dieter Moor (Schweizer Fernsehen, Swiss Television; 1997–1999)
*''Giacobbo/Müller'' Late Service Public (Schweizer Fernsehen, Swiss Television; 2008–2016)
*''Deville'' :de:Deville Late Night, Deville Late Night with :de:Dominic Deville, Dominic Deville (Schweizer Fernsehen, Swiss Television; 2016–heute)
*''52 Minutes'' with :Vincent Kucholl and :Vincent Veillon (Schweizer Fernsehen, Swiss Television; 2020-)
Ukraine
*''15 Minutes till Tomorrow'' (''15 хвилин до завтра''; K1; 2011–2012)
*''Evening. Pasha. Stars'' (''Вечір. Паша. Зорі''; K1; 2012)
*''Crazy Week'' (''Шалений тиждень''; TVi (channel), TVi; 2012)
*''Проти ночі'' (TVi (channel), TVi; 2012)
*''ЧистоNEWS'' (1+1 (TV channel), 1+1, March 23, 2012 – present)
*''Pedan-Prytula Show'' (''Педан-Притула Шоу''; Novyi Kanal (Новий канал); March 10, 2013 – 2014)
*''Uteodyn with Michael Shchur'' (''Утеодин з Майклом Щуром''; UA:First (UA:Перший); October 18, 2014 – July 25, 2015)
*''Lumpen Show'' (NLO TV, 2015—September 29, 2017)
*''ЧереЩур'' (UA:First, 2017)
*''The Evening with Nataliya Garipova'' (''Вечір з Наталею Гаріповою''; STB (TV channel), STB (СТБ); March 3, 2018)
*''The Evening Show with Yuriy Marchenko'' (''Вечірнє шоу з Юрієм Марченком''; UA:First (UA:Перший); 2018)
*''Kondratyuk on Monday'' (''Кондратюк у понеділок''; 5 Kanal (Ukraine), 5 Kanal (5 канал); September 21, 2020–present)
*''Fierce Ukrainization with Antin Mukharsky'' (''Люта українізація з Антіном Мухарським''; 4 Kanal (Ukraine), 4 Kanal (:uk:4 канал (Україна), uk) (4 канал); December 18, 2020–present)
*''Dizel Night'' (STB (TV channel), STB (СТБ); March 6, 2021–present)
United Kingdom
*''Parkinson (TV series), Parkinson'' (BBC One; 1971–1982, 1998–2004, ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1987–1988, 2004–2007)
*''Des O'Connor Tonight'' (BBC Two; 1977–1982, ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1983–1999, 2001–2002)
*''Wogan'' (BBC One; 1982–1992)
*''The Late Clive James'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1983–1987)
*''Aspel & Company'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1984–1993)
*''Joan Rivers: Can We Talk?'' (BBC Two; 1986)
*''The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross'' (Channel 4; 1987–1988)
*''Saturday Night Clive'' (BBC Two; 1989–1990, BBC One; 1991)
*''Clive Anderson Talks Back'' (Channel 4; 1989–1996)
*''Saturday Matters with Sue Lawley'' (BBC One; 1989)
*''Tonight with Jonathan Ross'' (Channel 4; 1990–1992)
*''Sunday Night Clive'' (BBC One; 1994)
*''The Danny Baker Show'' (BBC One; 1994–1995)
*''The Clive James Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1995–1998)
*''The Frank Skinner Show'' (BBC One; 1995–1999; ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2000–2005)
*''The Gaby Roslin Show'' (Channel 4; 1996)
*''Clive Anderson All Talk'' (BBC One; 1996–1999)
*''The Late Jonathan Ross'' (Channel 4; 1996)
*''The Jack Docherty Show'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 1997–1999)
*''Friday Night's All Wright'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 1998–2000)
*''So Graham Norton'' (Channel 4; 1998–2002)
*''Patrick Kielty Almost Live'' (BBC One; 1999–2003)
*''The Richard Blackwood Show'' (Channel 4; 1999–2001)
*''The Brian Conley Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2000–2002)
*''Clive Anderson NOW'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 2001)
*''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' (BBC One; 2001–2010)
*''V Graham Norton'' (Channel 4; 2002–2003)
* ''The Ralf Little Show'' (BBC Choice; 2002)
*''God Almighty'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 2003)
*''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture'' (BBC One; 2005–2006)
*''The Charlotte Church Show'' (Channel 4; 2006–2008)
*''Russell Brand's Got Issues'' (E4 (TV channel), E4; 2006)
*''The Russell Brand Show (TV series), The Russell Brand Show'' (Channel 4; 2006)
*''The Graham Norton Show
''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...
'' (BBC Two; 2007–2009, BBC One; 2009–present)
*''Lily Allen and Friends'' (BBC Three; 2008)
*''The Justin Lee Collins Show'' (ITV2; 2009)
*''Piers Morgan's Life Stories'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2009–2023)
*''Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' (Channel 4; 2009–2017)
*''Justin Lee Collins: Good Times'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 2010)
*''Frank Skinner's Opinionated'' (BBC Two; 2010–2011)
*''Paul O'Grady Live'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2010–2011)
*''The Rob Brydon Show'' (BBC Two; 2010–2012)
*''The Jonathan Ross Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2011–present)
* ''Parkinson: Masterclass'' (Sky Arts; 2012–2014)
*''The Michael McIntyre Chat Show'' (BBC One; 2014)
*''Up Late with Rylan'' (Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5; 2016)
*''Alan Carr: Happy Hour'' (Channel 4; 2016)
*''John Bishop: In Conversation With...'' (W (UK TV channel), W; 2016–2018)
*''The Nightly Show (UK TV series), The Nightly Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2017)
*''The John Bishop Show (2022 TV series), The John Bishop Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2022–2023)
*''The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show'' (BBC Two; 2022, BBC One; 2023–present)
Mock chat shows
*''The Dame Edna Experience'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 1987–1989)
*''The Word (TV series), The Word'' (Channel 4; 1990–1995)
*''Room 101 (British TV series), Room 101'' (BBC Two; 1994–2007, BBC One; 2012–2018)
*''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series), Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' (BBC Two; 1994–1995)
*''The Mrs Merton Show'' (BBC Two; 1995, BBC One; 1996–1998)
*''TFI Friday'' (Channel 4; 1996–2000, 2015)
*''Da Ali G Show'' (Channel 4; 2000, HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
; 2003–2004)
*''Meet Ricky Gervais'' (Channel 4; 2000)
*''The Kumars at No. 42'' (BBC Two; 2001–2004, BBC One; 2005–2006, Sky 1 2014)
*''This Is Dom Joly'' (BBC Three; 2003)
*''The Keith Barret Show'' (BBC Two; 2004–2005)
*''OFI Sunday'' (Channel 4; 2005)
*''Man to Man with Dean Learner'' (Channel 4; 2006)
*''TV Heaven, Telly Hell'' (Channel 4; 2006–2007)
*''Al Murray's Happy Hour'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2007–2008)
*''The Dame Edna Treatment'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2007)
*''Carpool (TV series), Carpool'' (Dave (TV channel), Dave; 2010–2011)
*''That Sunday Night Show'' (ITV (TV channel), ITV; 2011–2012)
*''Comic's Choice'' (Channel 4; 2011)
*''The Angelos Epithemiou Show'' (Channel 4; 2011–2012)
*''The Last Leg'' (Channel 4; 2012–present)
* ''Backchat (2013 TV series), Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad'' (BBC Three; 2013–2014, BBC Two; 2015)
*''All Round to Mrs. Brown's'' (BBC One; 2017–2020)
*''The Russell Howard Hour'' (Sky One; 2018–2022)
*''The Big Narstie Show'' (Channel 4; 2018–2022)
*''This Time with Alan Partridge'' (BBC One; 2019–2021)
*''The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan'' (Channel 4; 2019–2023)
References
{{TV production
Variety shows
Television talk shows,
Late night television programming
Television genres