Ratings: Colbert’s Finale Week Outdraws Fallon and Kimmel Combined

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert went out with a ratings blowout, averaging 5.33 million total viewers and 708,000 adults 18–49 during its final week on CBS—enough to outdraw its two 11:35 competitors combined.

Ratings: Colbert’s Finale Week Outdraws Fallon and Kimmel Combined. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert went out with a ratings blowout, averaging 5.33 million total viewers and 708,000 adults 18–49 during its final week on CBS—enough to outdraw its two 11:35 competitors combined. According to Nielsen Live+3 ratings data, the CBS late-night show surged 62 percent in total viewers and 126 percent in the demo for the week of May 17, 2026. The week peaked with The Late Show’s Thursday night series finale, which drew 9.12 million total viewers and 1.46 million adults 18–49, dwarfing the rest of the late-night field. (Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired repeats on Thursday and Friday, while NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon aired a repeat Thursday and shifted its final original episode of the week to Friday.) For the full week, Kimmel averaged...