Fox host Greg Gutfeld

Greg Gutfeld, the host of Fox’s “Gutfeld!”, shown at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Greg Gutfeld’s appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show later this week not only marks the Fox News Channel host’s first appearance on one of the major late-night TV talk shows.

It also comes at a time when the Fox host’s star is on the rise, given the new Fox Nation game show he hosts in addition to his regular nightly Fox talk show. And, more importantly, his upcoming Jimmy Fallon appearance on Thursday coincides with Gutfeld increasingly proving to be the exception to the late night talk show rule.

While the economics and key metrics for traditional late-night talk TV remain in terminal decline — and with CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and its veteran host set to disappear altogether next year — Fox’s motormouth funnyman is quite possibly the only late-night host without a reason to be looking over his shoulder at the moment. In fact, the latest Nielsen data points to Gutfeld continuing to dominate the late-night landscape, his Gutfeld! being the highest-rated in the genre (averaging a little over 3.1 million viewers and just shy of 400,000 in the key demo).

Since the announcement of Colbert’s cancellation alone, Gutfeld’s ratings are up 11% in terms of total viewers and 4% in the demo.

What makes Gutfeld’s ascent even more remarkable is how lean his operation is compared to the network shows he now outperforms. While CBS reportedly burned through a staggering $100 million annually to produce Colbert’s show — which included a staff of around 200 — Gutfeld! runs much leaner.

Fox’s Greg Gutfeld is winning the late-night ratings war

I haven’t been able to nail down an official exact figure but have nevertheless heard that the budget for Gutfeld! doesn’t even approach double-digit millions, and that the show’s team numbers around 20 people. No wonder former late-night host Samantha Bee commented just days ago that CBS’ cancellation of Colbert was a “no-brainer,” given the fact that the show was “definitely hemorrhaging money.”

Likewise, it’s no surprise that Gutfeld couldn’t resist a bit of teasing during his Friday episode, when he alluded to Colbert’s recent interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris: “While Colbert interviews a loser, Jimmy Fallon invites … a winner.” Gutfeld’s audience applauded as he went on to plug his upcoming chat with Fallon. “It’s the biggest crossover since the Harlem Globetrotters visited the Golden Girls.” He continued: “Unlike the other guys, Jimmy sitting with me proves he’s not afraid of upsetting his peers or afraid of my mesmerizing charm.”

The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon, the host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

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When Gutfeld! premiered back in April 2021, it brought a comedic and politics-infused vibe into competition with the celebrity-heavy format practiced by NBC, CBS, and ABC. The Gutfeld! formula essentially blended its host’s sharp monologues with irreverent panel chats — and that bet has clearly paid off for Fox. Since its launch, Gutfeld! has grown its total viewership 113% according to Nielsen data (and 46% in the coveted 25-54 demographic).

By August 2022, it had even dethroned Colbert as the top-rated late-night show, a lead it never surrendered.

Gutfeld’s upcoming sitdown with Fallon, meanwhile, is also notable for another reason: Fallon, whose show typically avoids overt political drama these days in favor of games and music, has rarely booked a conservative media personality of Gutfeld’s profile (at least in the Trump 2.0 era; Trump himself, of course, famously appeared as a happy-go-lucky guest before becoming president). It could be argued this is an attempt by NBC to make a play for a broader audience, bearing in mind that late-night guests tend to overwhelmingly lean to the left of the ideological divide. Or maybe it’s simply a ratings play, given Gutfeld’s dominance of late-night.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains: This is a terrible time to be a late-night TV host, and to be a network working to support that host’s show. Everything from streaming to hyper-partisan politics are eating away at ad dollars and pulling audiences elsewhere. CBS cited financial reasons for pulling the plug on Colbert, despite strong viewership compared to his peers (as an aside: One can’t help wondering that if losing money really was the issue, it seems strange for CBS to prefer to continue bleeding money into 2026 rather than pulling the plug on Colbert immediately).

In this climate, Gutfeld stands as the outlier. He’s built a cable-based juggernaut that not only tops his direct competitors but often outdraws the combined viewership of the traditional late-night slate. Gutfeld can chuckle about his Fallon appearance being a “crossover,” but in terms of ratings momentum he’s the one who has the upper hand.