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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Fallon wins the crown for late night king

Recent poll finds viewers finds former ‘SNL’ star ‘authentic’

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Liberals like Stephen Colbert. Republicans favor Jimmy Kimmel. And pretty much everyone likes Jimmy Fallon.

That’s a rough translation of the Hollywood Reporter’s survey of late-night television viewers, released last week. The survey, conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland, comes five years after the entertainment glossy first polled viewers about a very different late-night lineup that included Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jon Stewart.

A whopping 47 percent of the viewers polled said they would opt for “The Tonight Show,” which Fallon took over in February of last year, if all of the late-night shows aired at the same time. This includes cable offerings such as “Conan” and “The Daily Show” and those in later time slots, such as “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Jimmy Kimmel came in a distant second with 20 percent.

There aren’t many earth-shattering revelations in this year’s survey — Fallon’s dominance has held strong even after the much-hyped “Late Show” debut of Stephen Colbert — but it’s an interesting look into what each host brings to the table.

Let’s analyze some of the biggest takeaways:

Jimmy Fallon

Fallon has a broader appeal in many respects — he was more popular with women than any other host and was the top pick when viewers were asked who they’d want to grab a beer with. Viewers were more likely to associate the words “authentic,” “cool dude” and “party animal” with the “Saturday Night Live” alum, than with Kimmel or Colbert.

Fallon recently teamed up with J. Crew to invent a pocket square-iPhone hybrid. He shares meat platters with Nick Offerman, sings with Ariana Grande, dances with Jennifer Lawrence and has a secret handshake with Justin Bieber.

One thing possibly working in Fallon’s favor is the fact that viewers said they cared less about opening monologues than those polled in 2010. Thirty-eight percent of viewers said the monologue was their favorite in 2010, compared to just 23 percent this year. Interviews with guests, followed by comedic commentary or skits were rated as the second most favorite.

One caveat: Viewers were least likely to associate Fallon with the word opinionated, which brings us to …

Stephen Colbert

Not a lot of Republicans are watching “The Late Show” — just 17 percent of his audience identifies as members of the GOP. Given his “Colbert Report” roots, that’s not surprising. He has more independents and atheists in his fanbase as well.

One noteworthy finding: Colbert has retained more of Stewart’s audience (29 percent) than his successor Trevor Noah (16 percent).

Just two months into the gig, Colbert has already weighed in heavily on political issues. Last week, he lambasted Republicans for more than five minutes after the House passed legislation calling for more stringent oversight on refugees coming to the U.S. from Syria and Iraq. Last month, he had some choice words about CNBC’s GOP Debate.

When it came to “opinionated,” Colbert, not surprisingly, took the top spot.

Jimmy Kimmel

While THR notes that the general late-night TV audience tends to lean Democratic, Kimmel’s viewers are more likely to be Republican or conservative than those who watch his peers. Plenty of Clinton fans are watching “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” but 30 percent of his viewers reported favoring Trump. Maybe they’re just confused.

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