From Johnny Carson to David Letterman, a look at the hosts who defined late night television — and where Stephen Colbert fits among the greats.
After an 11-season run, mostly as the No. 1 show in late night, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert comes to a close on Thursday, May 21.
The tributes have been pouring in, with legends from TV, film and music all stopping by one last time at the Ed Sullivan Theater. But it got me thinking: Who are the top late night hosts and where does Colbert rank among the greats? Check out my list below before settling in for the Late Show finale at 11:35 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
Shows hosted: The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 2005-14); The Late Show (CBS, 2015-2026)
Colbert has basically lived two careers. One as Stephen Colbert for the last 11 years on Late Show and one as “Stephen Colbert,” the comedian’s blowhard takeoff on a Bill O’Reilly-esque talker that he perfected on The Colbert Report for 11 years on Comedy Central. His work on Colbert Report was so impeccable and always in-character, that some feared he would actually struggle to adapt to being himself when he took over Late Show from David Letterman in 2015. But those concerns proved unfounded.
After a bit of a rocky start, Colbert has spent most of the last decade as the No. 1 host in late night by leaning into his superpower — satirical political humor. Colbert cooked in instances like live shows on election nights or after events like political conventions or State of the Union addresses. He provided smart humor and compelling conversations, through bits like the Colbert Questionert, which elevated him above some of his other competitors.
And Colbert did it all while imbuing his performances every night with a sense of hopeful joy. Whether riffing with his house band, performing desk pieces or interviewing celebrities, Colbert always projected joy. Not to mention his propensity to join in on musical performances, as he did on Tuesday with one last display of his dancing prowess during David Byrne’s performance of Burning Down The House.
If anything, Colbert’s abrupt cancellation has only shown just how beloved he is and has cemented his place as a legend of late night. From the Strike Force Five to Letterman to icons like Tom Hanks, people have been lining up to give Colbert his flowers. And they are well deserved.
Shows hosted: The Jon Stewart Show (MTV, 1993-95); The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 1999-2015, 2024-current)
Jon Stewart went from being cancelled on MTV in the mid-1990s to the most trusted news source for young Americans in the early 2000s. And he did so by largely redefining what a late night show could be.
When Stewart took over The Daily Show from original host Craig Kilborn in 1999, he moved it away from a parody of news to making fun of the news and pointed political satire. Stewart said in “The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History“: “You can satirize news media conventions just by embodying the form in slightly exaggerated or subtle ways…that’s when I felt we got something. For me the key switch was relevance — turning the machine in a direction more toward politics, media, satire.”
They really jumpstarted this change with Indecision 2000, covering the 2000 presidential election including sending future The Office star Steve Carell on John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express.” The show’s ascent only continued from there, ranging from segments like Mess O’ Potamia covering the 2003 Iraq war, Indecision 2004 covering Bush v. Kerry and Indecision 2008 covering Obama v. McCain. All the while, Stewart was becoming known for his sharp, biting and unforgiving commentary, making him America’s most trusted newscaster, according to a 2009 TIME online poll following the death of Walter Cronkite.
Stewart left The Daily Show in 2015, but made a surprising Mondays-only return in February 2024 as the effort to find a replacement for his successor Trevor Noah stalled. Stewart originally planned to stay only through the 2024 presidential election, but the revival has been so successful and such a boon to the show’s ratings that he has remained with no end in sight. And viewers have been enjoying our Moment of Zen having Stewart back delivering his commentary on our TV (and phone) screens, even if it’s just for one night a week.
Shows hosted: Late Night (NBC, 1993-2009); The Tonight Show (NBC, 2009-2010); Conan (TBS, 2010-2021)
Conan O’Brien might be the most unlikely success story in the history of television. Elevated from a little-known writer on The Simpsons to replacement for the red-hot Letterman on Late Night amid the great Late Night Wars of 1993, by all accounts Conan should have failed. And really he nearly did — for a while in 1994 Conan was getting renewed in 13-week increments, according to the great Bill Carter’s excellent book, “The War For Late Night.” However, a lack of other options, as well as an early appearance/endorsement from Letterman himself, helped keep Conan afloat and eventually he caught on with the younger audience on which the 12:35 a.m. time slot has always thrived.
Conan’s absurdist comedy — including bits such as “If They Mated,” “In the Year 2000” and my personal favorite, the “Walker, Texas Ranger Lever” — saw him become so popular that near his peak in 2004 it looked like he could have options outside NBC at 11:35. That’s when the network made a fateful decision which brought about the next Late Night Wars. NBC set in motion a succession plan in 2004 where O’Brien would take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009.
Of course, we all know how that turned out — despite wanting to avoid the mess they had on their hands in 1993 between Letterman and Leno, NBC made a bigger mess in 2009 by installing Leno at 10 p.m., which undercut both the local news and Conan’s Tonight Show. I was and still remain firmly Team Coco, agreeing with Letterman’s take that Leno should have taken his talents elsewhere if he didn’t want to retire in 2009. Conan was still producing fine work on The Tonight Show, but unlike his early Late Night tenure he was not afforded the opportunity to grow his ratings at 11:35 and instead was asked to move the show past midnight to accommodate moving Leno and his pay AND play contract to 11:35. Conan refused in his famous “People of Earth” letter, setting the stage for a groundswell of support and his eventual lucrative departure from his dream job.
Conan finished up his Conan Tonight Show tenure with an inspired run of shows and then spent the next decade-plus on his own eponymous show on TBS. If anything, he’s grown even bigger since retiring from that show in 2021 thanks to his “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” podcast, and it was recently announced he will host The Oscars for the third-straight year in 2027.
Shows hosted: The Tonight Show (NBC, 1962-1992)
I was very tempted to put Carson at No. 1. There is no denying that Carson was the undisputed King of Late Night and there has never has been — and likely never will be — anyone like him in this arena ever again. But, given I missed the majority of his rule over late night (having been born in 1984), I just don’t have the personal connection to Johnny that I do my No. 1 choice. That being said, there’s no denying Carson’s legacy or impact.
Carson debuted on The Tonight Show in 1962 and remained in place for 30 years until May 22, 1992. Carson was what a majority of Americans fell asleep to each night, getting tucked in by Johnny’s iconic monologue. Bill Carter wrote in his seminal book, “The Late Shift“: “The nightly Carson monologue quickly became the most consistent five to seven minutes of entertainment on television…Johnny’s monologue became the country’s most acutely observed political barometer.”
Carson’s protege Letterman described him like a public utility, someone you wanted to be there at the end of every day. Actors, authors, musicians and comedians all flocked to California looking to get an audience with the King. Letterman would say that everyone doing a late night show was basically doing Johnny’s show: “The reason we’re all doing Johnny’s ‘Tonight’ is because you think, ‘Well, if I do Johnny’s “Tonight” show, maybe I’ll be a little like Johnny and people will like me more. But it sadly doesn’t work that way. It’s just, if you’re not Johnny, you’re wasting your time.”
Besides his iconic monologue, Carson was known for classic bits like “Stump the Band” and “Carnac the Magnificent.” And moreover, he was known for being among the most powerful people in entertainment. Carter wrote in “The Late Shift” that Carson’s Tonight produced at times as much as 15 to 20 percent of profits recorded by the entire network, and Carson used that leverage to get rich deals which would eventually include ownership of his show and a favorable schedule, including many weeks off in the summer. He was also able to crush any would-be competitors, even those he helped make like Joan Rivers with her ill-fated FOX late night entry in 1986.
Eventually, Carson’s empire began to crumble, with NBC’s own Saturday Night Live delivering the cutting Carsenio sketch and Leno’s manager Helen Kushnick planting in the New York Post that NBC wanted to dump Carson for her client. Carson probably kept going for a while longer, but he reportedly did not want to suffer the fate of Bob Hope and wanted to go out somewhere near his best in the way that people would remember him. To that end, after his Tonight Show finale, which drew an estimated 50 to 55 million viewers, Carson was never really seen on TV again except for a few cameos on Letterman’s Late Show in 1994 (lest anyone mistake who he saw as his rightful heir). Further proving that point, despite being retired, Carson still read the paper and had material running through his head. And he chose to send that material to not Leno, but Letterman, just proving that even in retirement the King was still capable of ruling the roost.
Shows hosted: Late Night (NBC, 1982-1993), The Late Show (CBS, 1993-2015)
If it hasn’t been made clear in the prior entries, David Letterman is my personal favorite late night host. The man who once proclaimed, “There is no off position on the genius switch” certainly was speaking from experience as a genius in his own right.
Audiences watched Letterman evolve from hosting the anti-talk show with Late Night beginning in 1982 to being the format’s elder statesman and spokesperson, showing the others it was alright to be funny again with his much-heralded comments on air following the September 11 attacks. Initially, Letterman was given strict rules by Johnny Carson to differentiate Late Night from The Tonight Show, including no big band and no monologue. But that was fine with Letterman and his team, including the brilliant Merrill Markoe. Letterman’s Late Night didn’t so much want to be part of the entertainment establishment as skewer and deconstruct it. Innovative bits like the monkey cam, the famous velcro suit and 360 rotating show all made clear that this was no ordinary talk show. And fans loved it, making Letterman and his sharp, sardonic wit red hot through the 1980s and 1990s.
Letterman loved Carson and was a huge fan of the legend, and as such refused to campaign to be Carson’s successor while the King was still on his throne. Ultimately, that left the door open for Leno’s manager Kushnick to wrest the would-be Tonight crown away from Letterman. Despite most — including Carson — believing Letterman to be the rightful heir to the Tonight throne, Leno got the gig and Letterman decamped to 11:35 at CBS in 1993, as described in the aforementioned Carter’s “The Late Shift.”
It appeared as though Letterman was going to make NBC pay, coming out of the gates like a rocket on August 30, 1993, dominating the late night ratings for the better part of two years. Eventually, Leno overtook Letterman in the ratings, but I think it’s clear who has had the longer-lasting impact among the two. Letterman inspired a cadre of acolytes, including O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and others, with he and his signature comedy style still held in high regard, while Leno is far less frequently cited as an influence. Look no further than Letterman’s recent return to the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he joined Colbert in a classic bit of taking on the corporate suits. Letterman long had an eagerness to bite the hand that feeds, whether it be offering new NBC owners GE a fruit basket in 1986 or taking CBS to task for highlighting rival Leno on its website. So it was no surprise that he was down for the wanton destruction of CBS property as Colbert’s Late Show nears its end, closing the book on the historic franchise Letterman created in 1993. And the kicker? It was Colbert’s second-highest rated episode of the season.
Letterman is iconic not only for his devilishly sharp wit, classic comedy bits and pull-no-punches attitude, but it can’t be understated how legendary it is that he created a second viable late night franchise at 11:35. Prior to the debut of his Late Show in 1993, NBC had a stranglehold on the daypart with The Tonight Show. Even if Leno beat him in the ratings, he had the benefit of being the incumbent (not to mention the iconic 1990s Must See TV lineup). Letterman created a whole new franchise from scratch and made CBS relevant in a daypart where they had never been relevant (sorry, Pat Sajak). And that alone is enough to solidify his place in the annals of late night.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert finale airs on Thursday, May 21, at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
Stephen Colbert hosted The Late Show for 11 seasons.
Stephen Colbert was preceded as host of The Late Show by the legendary David Letterman.
The Late Show franchise was created by David Letterman in 1993 when he left NBC after being passed over to succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show.
The Late Show has been taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City since its inception in 1993.
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