A brief, disheartening history of women in late night

Late-night TV has been historically dominated by men, but these women helped the genre evolve

Comedian Taylor Tomlinson
Taylor Tomlinson will soon become the only female late-night host
(Image credit: Andrew Lipovsky / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank / Getty Images)

You know late-night could use more diversity when there are two hosts named Jimmy, but no women. 

Late-night television has been historically dominated by men, so much so that when Emma Thompson played a female late-night host in "Late Night," she joked that the movie was "basically science fiction." 

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.