There has been drama among late night talk shows for decades, and now, amid Jimmy Fallon’s stunning loss in the ratings, there’s reported turmoil at the top of the “Tonight Show” with one exec suddenly and mysteriously out.
Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS ended the 2018–19 TV season more dominant than ever.
The official Nielsen-ratings measurement period ended Wednesday, and the CBS late-night series expanded its total viewer lead over chief competitor The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and, for the first time in nearly 25 years, finish a season at number one in the all-important adults-under-50 demo.
Nielsen data through last week has the Late Show averaging roughly 3.8 million viewers this season, about 1.4 million ahead of second-place Tonight (2.4 million) and nearly 1.8 million in front of third-place Jimmy Kimmel Live (2 million).
Colbert ended the 2017–18 season with a 1.2-million-viewer lead over Fallon (and 1.6 million viewers ahead of Kimmel), so the Late Show’s margin of victory grew more impressive during the past nine months.
More than ever, Colbert is the clear king of late night.
Fallon originally dominated the race between Colbert and Kimmel when the three were first matched up four years ago.
But once Donald Trump entered the presidential race, late-night shows became more focused on political news, and Colbert, a frequent critic of Trump who formerly hosted the political satire show “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, eventually jumped ahead of Fallon in total viewers.
For much of the first two years of Trump’s administration, the Late Show’s trajectory was one of virtually uninterrupted growth, both in overall audience and among younger viewers.
Colbert’s audience grew by nearly 20 percent between mid-2017 and mid-2018, jumping from around 3.2 million viewers at the end of May 2017 to nearly 3.9 million a year later.
As Fallon’s famously fluffy show began to fall behind Colbert’s politically charged material, Fallon brought in “Today” show vet Jim Bell as showrunner to inject some topical heat to the show.
But as the ratings continue to suffer in spite of that gambit — an anguished Bell is sniping at executive producer and NBC royalty Lorne Michaels, who heads up “Saturday Night Live” and a glut of NBC comedies.
30 Rock insiders tell Page Six that Bell is frustrated because he thinks that Michaels — who championed Fallon’s rise from “SNL” to his stint at “Late Night” and finally to “Tonight” — is “stuck in the past,” while Bell believes Fallon has to reinvent himself to compete.
While Michaels is technically senior as the executive producer, Bell runs the show day-to-day as “executive in charge.”
In his seven-month reign, Bell has brought about changes, producing a number of outside-the-studio specials, even taking Fallon to Puerto Rico for a “Hamilton” special with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
But Fallon’s longtime producer Katie Hockmeyer has now left — shortly after her return from maternity leave.
She had been with Fallon since he launched “Late Night” in 2009.
Hockmeyer’s departure also comes just months after the “Tonight” show’s other longtime showrunner, Mike DiCenzo, quit.
DiCenzo cited burnout after 10 years on late-night TV and left as Bell — the executive producer of the “Today” show from 2005 until 2012 — took over.
Fallon has tried to incorporate more political humor into the show but has yet to match Colbert’s nonstop searing satire.