--- title: 'Late Show With Stephen Colbert' Debut Ratings Win Big description: The show's debut ratings top rivals, including last year's 'Late Show' premiere hosted by David Letterman canonical: https://time.com/4027953/stephen-colbert-late-show-ratings/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-09T19:46:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:57.088Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' Debut Beats Rivals og:description: Including last year's 'Late Show' premiere hosted by David Letterman og:url: https://time.com/4027953/stephen-colbert-late-show-ratings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fd6b078b4f809f3/698862d12dce011ac19e56e1/stephen-colbert-late-show.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Stephen Colbert during the premiere episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Sept. 8, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' Debut Beats Rivals twitter:description: Including last year's 'Late Show' premiere hosted by David Letterman twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fd6b078b4f809f3/698862d12dce011ac19e56e1/stephen-colbert-late-show.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert's _Late Show_ Debut Beats Rivals > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Behind the Scenes Colbert [Watch (HLS stream): Behind the Scenes Colbert](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ojwLwF0p.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-08-27. TIME sat down with Stephen Colbert as he transitions from satirical new anchor to late night TV host._ by [James Hibberd / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## James Hibberd / Entertainment Weekly Sep 9, 2015 7:46 PM UTC  Stephen Colbert during the premiere episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Sept. 8, 2015. Stephen Colbert during the premiere episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Sept. 8, 2015.Jeffrey R. Staab—CBS via Getty Images by [James Hibberd / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## James Hibberd / Entertainment Weekly Sep 9, 2015 7:46 PM UTC The numbers are in: Stephen Colbert got off to a very strong start as the new host of CBS’ _The Late Show_. According to Nielsen, Colbert’s debut episode Tuesday evening a whopping 6.6 million viewers. That easily topped NBC’s _Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon_ (2.9 million) and ABC’s _Jimmy Kimmel Live_ (1.7 million). _The Late Show_ was up 203 percent in viewers compared to the same night last year when the show was hosted by David Letterman. Compared to last year’s _Late Show_ premiere (which fell on Sept. 22), Tuesday’s telecast was up 131 percent. The performance marks the largest _Late Show_ Tueday audience among adults 18-49—excluding Letterman’s final week—since July, 1995. Of course, the first episode of a new talk show host taking over an existing franchise _should_ spike. The real test is in the days and weeks to come. CBS’ _The Late Late Show with James Corden_ also received a boost, jumping to 1.9 million to rank third for the evening. For more, here’s [EW review of the premiere](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/08/late-show-stephen-colbert-ew-review) (we gave Stephen a B+) [and our recap](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/09/late-show-stephen-colbert-premiere-recap). Colbert [took on Donald Trump](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/09/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-oreos), and [paid tribute to Letterman’s legacy](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/09/stephen-colbert-david-letterman-tribute) hosting the show. Check out Colbert’s [first _Late Show_ monologue](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/09/stephen-colbert-late-show-monologue). The ranking: Stephen Colbert (P)…6.549 million Jimmy Fallon…2.920 million James Corden…1.850 million Jimmy Kimmel…1.745 million Seth Meyers…1.302 million _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/09/colbert-ratings) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4027953/stephen-colbert-late-show-ratings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4027953/stephen-colbert-late-show-ratings/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert's Late Show Debut Beats Rivals","datePublished":"2015-09-09T19:46:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:57.088Z","description":"Including last year's Late Show premiere hosted by David Letterman","url":"https://time.com/4027953/stephen-colbert-late-show-ratings/","keywords":["Television","Ratings","stephen colbert","the late show with stephen colbert"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fd6b078b4f809f3/698862d12dce011ac19e56e1/stephen-colbert-late-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Hibberd / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fd6b078b4f809f3/698862d12dce011ac19e56e1/stephen-colbert-late-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stephen Colbert during the premiere episode of \"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\" on Sept. 8, 2015.","caption":"Stephen Colbert during the premiere episode of \"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\" on Sept. 8, 2015.","creditText":"Jeffrey R. 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