The Late Night Wars are fierce — and have been since the days of Carson, the then-undisputed King of Late Night. Now, nobody talks of the current reigning King of Late Night, for late night is a much more competitive game. Instead, the term is “Late Night Leader.” In those terms, Fallon has slotted in as a more-than-adequate replacement for Leno, easily eclipsing some of his ratings.
There are a slew of late night shows on the air, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Late Night with Seth Meyers — all of which are featured in this web site. Other major shows currently on the air include Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Conan, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and Last Call with Carson Daly. Almost all of these are humor/politically-based, celebrity-interview programs designed to promote upcoming movies, TV shows, or other creative works, and put viewers in a good mood before they go to bed.
During the summer doldrums, when many stations might air reruns and reality shows, the late night shows remain as busy as ever, with movie stars show-hopping to promote their latest projects. Currently, two of the more popular talk shows for promotional plugs are The Tonight Show and Late Show. But if you’re looking for political satire and social commentary, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah can’t be beat.
Through the years dozens of programs have come and gone, some more successful than others. You might remember: The Arsenio Hall Show, The Jon Stewart Show, The Magic Hour, Vibe, The Chevy Chase Show, The Martin Short Show, The Stephanie Miller Show, Lauren Hutton and…, The Pat Sajek Show, Into the Night, and the list goes on.
If you like late night, you might also enjoy some of the books and products featured below: