Stephen Colbert's 'The Late Show' Finale Pulls Record-Setting 6.74 Million Viewers

[Sympthsical]

4. Carson got 55 million for his final show

Leno got about 15 million 20 years later.

Letterman got about 14 million.

O'Brien about 10 million.

This is not to disparage Colbert (who I liked very much from his Colbert Report and Daily Show work).

It's to point out it's a dying format. I would be very surprised if any of these hosts were still there in 5 or so years. Celebrity interviews just don't matter that much in the age of podcasts, Instagram, and YouTube. When an actor is promoting a movie, you can now instantly access ten different interviews if you're really interested.

The nearest thing to monoculture that exists with social media is, "Hey, did you see that Hot Ones interview?"

Chicken wings vs. talk show hosts paid tens of millions of dollars a year - and the wings are winning.