Best Late Night Hosts Of All Time

The format of late night talk shows has stayed more or less the same since the 1960s. An announcer, who frequently leads the house band, will rile up the audience as the host takes the stage. The host then delivers a monologue (usually consisting of one-liners about current events) and interviews a notable guest. Musical artists or stand-up comedians will often perform, and contemporary shows try to get something to go viral as often as they can. It's a formula even those who don't watch late night TV are familiar with, and it's no mystery as to why: It's worked for decades. Why fix something that isn't broken?

The tried-and-true nature of late night also means that the title of "best host ever" is hotly contested. Who puts the superior spin on the format? We're here to answer that question. So kick off your work shoes, plop on the couch, and get ready to laugh: These are the all-time best late night hosts.

After taking over from Craig Ferguson, James Corden turned CBS' "The Late Late Show" into a lighthearted, game-filled bash where celebrities stop by and let their guard down by chowing down on cow tongue, duking it out in lip sync battles, or singing their hit songs with Corden in his smash-hit "Carpool Karaoke" series, which is exactly what it sounds like (as if you've never seen it). Suffice it to say, finding ways to tweak the late night talk show formula to keep it interesting is Corden's strongest talent. It's also an important one, since the standard monologue-and-interview format is getting a little stale after decades of seeing barely any innovation whatsoever.

Corden simply knows that while being funny is great, knowing how to go viral is just as important. He isn't the only one who's figured that out, but he's been one of the most successful. His videos often punch above the weight class his middling place in the late night ratings war would suggest. Maybe that means he's destined for bigger and better things.

The always-grinning Jimmy Fallon of "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night" just can't seem to catch a break (or stop laughing). He took over as host of "The Tonight Show" in 2014, just a few short years after a vicious hosting battle that rocked the show's legacy. But Fallon stayed above the fray and got to work, turning the show into a party where celebrities would come and sing songs, play games, and enjoy silly, undemanding chats. Slowly, audiences came around and began to reliably tune into Fallon's family-friendly take on the long-running program.

But then, just when Fallon had finally managed to establish himself as a comfortable part of America's weeknight routine, the Trump era began. Suddenly, his brand of light-hearted fun fell out of style in favor of pointed political commentary. Fallon, whose entire schtick is being everyone's pal, looked like a lonely kid on the playground, trying to get angry cliques to put their differences aside and join him at the swing set. But nobody was in a laughing mood.

That being said, we have to respect Fallon's dedication to unthreatening, good ol' fashioned fun. It's nice to have a haven from all the viciousness in every other corner of TV. So you do you, Jimmy. We'll come around.

To put it mildly, Trevor Noah had some big shoes to fill when he took the reins of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" from longtime host Jon Stewart. Few people knew who he was, and Stewart was an icon departing at a tumultuous time: Asking uneasy viewers to simply line up behind Noah was a big ask. Luckily for everyone, Noah's done a terrific job in the role. First and foremost, he's funny. The South Africa-born host has been a comedian his entire professional life, and still does stand-up tours whenever he gets the chance — his skills are well-honed. His political sensibilities also line up well with Stewart's, so longtime watchers found the transition comfortable, even if they went into it missing the previous host behind the desk.

Beyond that, though, Noah's political commentary is deepened not just by his wit, but by the insight that comes from his unique personal experiences as both a Black man and a South African. He understands many modern American issues better than most modern Americans themselves ever will, and uses that to educate as well as entertain. We couldn't ask for more from any host of "The Daily Show."

Plenty of people on this list hosted more than one show over the years, but few of them can say their shows were really that different from each other. The format can change, as well as the ratings, but the host remains the same, often accompanied by the same band, sidekick, writers, and crew. But Stephen Colbert, who rose to fame as the star of "The Colbert Report," became a completely different performer after taking over CBS' "The Late Show" from David Letterman. And he's just as good at one role as the other.

On "The Colbert Report," Colbert played an outrageous parody of a right wing talk show host, a la Bill O'Reilly (who, at the time, was a major player over at Fox News). Colbert almost never broke character and delivered some of the most hilarious and insightful comedy available. Ultimately, the show became one of the most unique and inimitable late night comedy programs ever produced. And he didn't stop there. Today, Colbert captains network TV's most successful late night show, where he largely just plays himself. It's not quite as hilariously bizarre as his previous work, but in its own way, it's just as good. 

Jon Stewart wasn't the first host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," but he's far and away the most beloved. For essentially the entire duration of the Bush and Obama years, Stewart's unique brand of passion, outrage, and peerless comedic chops revolutionized comedy and news, and got an entire generation of young people to care about politics. His skewering of Tucker Carlson and Jim Cramer have become the stuff of legend, and his show is arguably second only to "Saturday Night Live" as a launchpad for other comedians' careers. Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Hasan Minhaj, and many other performers who have gone on to enjoy celebrated careers honed their chops under Stewart.

Stewart left "The Daily Show" in 2015, just before the chaotic Trump era. This seemed like strange and unfortunate timing to many fans, as  Stewart's M.O. is using comedy to speak truth to conservative power. But as his frequent and always welcome appearances on the shows of his friends indicate, he certainly hasn't left the stage entirely. Whatever the future holds for Jon Stewart, it's sure to be hilarious.

This tall, Harvard-educated, gangly redhead from Boston is effortlessly, side-splittingly funny, even when he's just riffing off the cuff. Conan O'Brien's insults are biting and hilarious, but never mean-spirited: They're obviously all in good fun, never go too far, and usually position O'Brien as the ultimate butt of the joke anyway. Interviews on lesser talk shows are predictable and boring, but O'Brien made them into an unskippable highlight. He's a gracious host who knows exactly how to meet guests where they are, bring them out of their shells, and elevate the discussion — not with gimmicks, but with humor, and all without stealing the spotlight simply because it's his show. He also has hilarious and humble Andy Richter by his side, who might just be the greatest late night sidekick who ever lived.

Frustratingly, O'Brien's career has never reached the heights it should have. Almost everyone remembers the "Tonight Show" debacle, in which Jay Leno handed the iconic franchise to O'Brien, only to take it back shortly after undermining O'Brien's iteration with his own poorly received lead-in program. Afterwards, O'Brien found a home on TBS, which was arguably beneath him. But he made the most of it, and we got several more years of quality late night comedy from the simply titled "Conan." Sadly, this underrated cable gem came to an end in 2021, leaving the world a slightly less joyful place. But we can't wait to see what he'll get up to over on HBO Max.