Stephen Colbert's Tuesday night Late Show debut pulled in strong ratings that more than doubled those of his closest competitor, setting the comedian up for a promising future in late night television. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's inaugural episode, which featured guests Jeb Bush and George Clooney, averaged 6.55 million viewers — more than double the ratings of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (2.92 million) and nearly triple those of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.75 million).
The Hollywood Reporter also notes that Colbert's impressive first-night ratings came without any special lead-in — Fallon's first episode experienced a ratings surge thanks to a lead-in from the Winter Olympics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Exodus begins from Burning Man after desert mud trapped tens of thousandsSpeed Read
-
'Margaritaville' singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
Speed Read
-
American Airlines suing website that offers tickets via price loopholes
Speed Read
-
Federal agencies investigating near miss between Southwest jet and private plane
Speed Read
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
-
Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70
Speed Read
-
Trader Joe's recalls 4 products in a week amid reports of rocks and insects inside food
Speed Read
-
Emmys to be postponed for first time since after 9/11 due to strikes
Speed Read
