# Top 16 Late-Night Talk Shows of All Time

> Network institutions, cable upstarts, and premium-channel satirists all vie for the crown, from monologue-and-couch classics to deep-dive comedy that reshaped the format. Cast your vote!

*By YPB Team · Published July 13, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-16-late-night-talk-shows-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson** — score 1000/1000
   Carson's 30-year reign that defined American late-night television and set the template every host followed.
2. **The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon** — score 1000/1000
   Fallon's viral-clip-friendly NBC show built around games, sketches, and musical bits.
3. **The Late Show with Stephen Colbert** — score 1000/1000
   Colbert's sharply political CBS successor to Letterman, a ratings leader in the current era.
4. **Conan** — score 879/1000
   O'Brien's TBS show that gave him a scrappy, digital-savvy second act after The Tonight Show.
5. **Last Week Tonight with John Oliver** — score 789/1000
   HBO's weekly deep-dive comedy show that turned long-form investigative satire into an award magnet.
6. **Late Night with Seth Meyers** — score 789/1000
   Meyers's NBC show anchored by the incisive 'A Closer Look' political segments.
7. **Real Time with Bill Maher** — score 789/1000
   Maher's HBO panel show blending monologue, interviews, and a roundtable debate.
8. **Jimmy Kimmel Live!** — score 684/1000
   ABC's long-running late-night staple known for viral pranks, celebrity bits, and topical monologues.
9. **The Late Late Show with James Corden** — score 684/1000
   Corden's CBS show that spawned the viral Carpool Karaoke phenomenon.
10. **The Colbert Report** — score 560/1000
   Colbert's satirical Comedy Central spin-off skewering punditry in a blowhard persona.
11. **Late Show with David Letterman** — score 560/1000
   Letterman's irreverent, deadpan CBS show that reinvented the genre with Top Ten Lists and Stupid Pet Tricks.
12. **Late Night with Conan O'Brien** — score 410/1000
   Conan's absurdist, character-driven NBC show that became a cult favorite for a generation.
13. **The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson** — score 410/1000
   Ferguson's loose, improvisational CBS show famous for its robot skeleton sidekick Geoff.
14. **The Dick Cavett Show** — score 410/1000
   The intellectually curious late-'60s and '70s show famed for its long, substantive interviews.
15. **The Daily Show** — score 228/1000
   The satirical Comedy Central news show that made fake news must-watch, defining under Jon Stewart.
16. **The Arsenio Hall Show** — score 228/1000
   The trailblazing early-'90s syndicated show that brought a younger, more diverse energy to late night.

Tags: usa, tv shows, comedy, talk shows