Fox News’ recently launched late-night show “Gutfeld!” surpassed every other late-night show in viewership, including CBS and Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” on Tuesday night.
According to data reported by The Wrap, “Gutfeld!” took a total average of 2.120 million viewers. The Fox News show bypassed Colbert in the coveted 25-to-54 age demographic as well with an average of 434,000. Colbert’s “Late Show” grabbed an average of 1.896 million viewers and 423,000 in the key demographic.
The third show to top the late-night charts was Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show,” which airs on NBC and had 1.216 million viewers and 354,000 in the key demographic. Since “Gutfeld!” launched in April of this year, the show has routinely averaged a higher viewership than Fallon’s.
Colbert still beat Gutfeld’s show among the 18-to-49 age demographic. Colbert averaged 322,000 viewers to Gutfeld’s 281,000 and Fallon’s 255,000.
“Gutfeld!” found itself in the peculiar position of competing against late-night comedy shows as well as the 11 p.m. hour shows on CNN and MSNBC. On Tuesday, MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Brain Williams” fell behind the Tonight Show with an average of 1.120 million viewers and 167,000 viewers in the 25-to-54 key age demographic.
CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight” fell behind all of the previously listed programs as well as NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and ABC News’ “Nightline.” CNN garnered 570,000 average viewers with 186,000 in the key demographic.
Gutfeld has been anything but shy about wanting to overtake the late-night shows in viewership and rating. Upon the announcement of his show’s expansion, Gutfeld said that the current shows are not accepting of conservative values and often repeat the same tired jokes.
“If you cannot tell the other late night shows apart, join the club. They’re as bland as string cheese and not nearly as appetizing. It’s the same jokes, the same assumptions, probably the same writers, all reading the same columns from the same hacks in the New York Times. So we aren’t going to be like them,” Gutfeld said. “If you want something different that isn’t afraid to take a risk and call out hypocrisy on all sides, check out ‘Gutfeld!’ And if you don’t, no hard feelings. Although I will hate you forever.”
Gutfeld’s theory appears to have taken form, even in the most recent news cycle. Following an initial period of silence, Hollywood stars such as Colbert began speaking out on the events in Afghanistan by comparing members of the Republican party to the Taliban.
Colbert initially expressed agreement with President Joe Biden’s widely criticized speech in which he argued that the overthrow of the Afghan government by terrorists was the right decision. He then insinuated that soldiers should be fighting “radicals” on Capitol Hill, instead of terrorists abroad.
“We have had troops there for 20 years,” Colbert said. “They fought, they sacrificed, their families sacrificed so that we wouldn’t have a terrorist attack in America planned in a foreign country … Why should our soldiers be fighting radicals in a civil war in Afghanistan? We’ve got our own on Capitol Hill.”
Related: Stephen Colbert, Michael Moore, And Other Celebs Compare Trump Voters, Republicans To Taliban