MAGA BOOST

‘Tonight Show’ Has Record Night Thanks to Fox Host

Ratings data shows that the late-night audience grew as the segment went on—a break from the norm.

The Tonight Show had its largest audience of the year when it featured Fox News host Greg Gutfeld as a special guest. LateNighter reported that Thursday’s show had 1.71 million total viewers, making it the program’s most-watched episode on a “regular” night—A.K.A not directly following an NFL football game or an Olympics event—since Dec. 19, 2023, when an episode directly following The Voice finale drew an audience of 1.74 million. Those who tuned in hoping to see fireworks between the right-wing host and Jimmy Fallon were left disappointed, as the two men were friendly with each other and avoided discussing politics throughout their 10-minute chat. Some of the success of Thursday’s show can also be attributed to a guest appearance by the Jonas Brothers. Still, LateNighter noted that the Tonight Show’s viewership figures—provided by Nielsen live-plus-same-day data—grew as the episode went on, meaning there were more eyes for Fox’s late-night darling than there were for the Jo Bros.