Photos: Randy Holmes/ABC, Todd Owyoung/NBC, Allen Entertainment Group
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The first full week of late night’s post-Late Show era was also an unusually disjointed one, with Memorial Day darkening several shows, others stretching the holiday into a weeklong break, and the NBA on NBC pushing The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon into unusually favorable lead-in territory.
The result was an almost entirely reshaped 11:35 p.m. landscape: ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! led in total viewers, The Tonight Show took the demo, and CBS’ new Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen block opened well below the audience levels established by Colbert.
According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data for the week of May 24, 2026, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 2.43 million total viewers (+35 percent over the week prior) and 252,000 adults 18–49 (+31 percent) across three original episodes and two repeats. The Tonight Show, meanwhile, averaged 1.41 million total viewers (+6 percent) and 271,000 adults 18–49 (+3 percent), edging Kimmel among younger viewers despite airing repeats all week.
Fallon’s demo win was driven by NBC’s coverage of the Western Conference Finals. Following Game 5 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder on May 26, The Tonight Show drew 1.66 million total viewers and 392,000 adults 18–49. Two nights later, after Game 6, the program delivered 1.70 million total viewers and 504,000 adults 18–49, helping lift its weekly average among younger viewers in particular.
On CBS, Comics Unleashed completed its first full week in Stephen Colbert’s former Late Show time period. The program’s 11:35 p.m. telecast averaged 885,000 total viewers and 94,000 adults 18–49 across five original episodes. A second repeat telecast at 12:05 a.m. averaged 590,000 viewers and 62,000 adults 18–49.
Combined, the show’s one-hour block averaged 737,000 total viewers and 78,000 adults 18–49, down sharply from Colbert’s Q1 2026 average of 2.70 million total viewers and 233,000 adults 18–49.
Funny You Should Ask, which aired its first full week on CBS, averaged 463,000 total viewers and 54,000 adults 18–49 at 12:35 a.m., followed by 398,000 viewers and 53,000 adults 18–49 at 1:05 a.m. Both telecasts aired repeats throughout the week.
At 12:37 a.m., ABC’s Nightline led the hour in total viewers, averaging 944,000 (+11 percent), while NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers topped the demo with 122,000 adults 18–49 (–2 percent). Nightline averaged 82,000 adults 18–49 (+3 percent), while Late Night, airing repeats all week, averaged 768,000 total viewers (+2 percent).
Switching to cable, Fox News’ Gutfeld! averaged 2.84 million total viewers, a 4 percent week-to-week decline. The program drew 157,000 adults 18–49 (–19 percent).
The Daily Show was dark for the Memorial Day holiday week with Comedy Central airing alternate programming in its time slot, while Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live aired just one original episode on Sunday before going dark for the remainder of the week, averaging 343,000 total viewers (–5 percent) and 113,000 adults 18–49 (+13 percent).
Complete ratings charts for the week of May 24, 2026, follow below.
Note: Time period listed is the most common airtime for each show.
Live+ 3 Ratings — All Viewers (P2+)
Avg Share
(%)Avg Viewers
(000’s)Vs
Last Wk10:00 PMGutfeld! (FNC)†
5 first-run episodes6.152,836-4%Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)*
1 first-run episode0.73343-5%11:00 PMThe Daily Show (COM)*
Dark this week———11:35 PMJimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
3 first-run episodes, 2 repeats9.222,429+35%The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
5 repeats5.731,411+6%Comics Unleashed (CBS)*
5 first-run episodes3.16885—12:05 AMComics Unleashed (CBS)*
5 repeats2.66590—12:35 AMFunny You Should Ask (CBS)*
5 repeats2.50463—12:37 AMNightline (ABC)*
5 first-run episodes5.05944+11%Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
5 repeats4.67768+2%1:05 AMFunny You Should Ask (CBS)*
5 repeats2.55398—† = airs at 7:00 p.m. PT, * = 30-minute program
Live+ 3 Ratings — In the Demo (P18-49)
US Share
(%)US AA Proj
(000’s)Vs
Last Wk10:00 PMGutfeld! (FNC)†
5 first-run episodes1.64157-19%Watch What Happens Live (Bravo)*
1 first-run episode1.08113+13%11:00 PMThe Daily Show (COM)*
Dark this week———11:35 PMJimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
3 first-run episodes, 2 repeats4.87252+31%The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
5 repeats5.66271+3%Comics Unleashed (CBS)*
5 first-run episodes1.7394—12:05 AMComics Unleashed (CBS)*
5 repeats1.4762—12:35 AMFunny You Should Ask (CBS)*
5 repeats1.4854—12:37 AMNightline (ABC)*
5 first-run episodes2.2582+3%Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
5 repeats3.79122-2%1:05 AMFunny You Should Ask (CBS)*
5 repeats1.7253—† = airs at 7:00 p.m. PT, * = 30-minute program
Ratings data © The Nielsen Company, used under license.