5 of the Best Late Night Talk Show Hosts You Need To Watch

In the last 12 months the late night show industry has gone through changes, retirements and upgrades. From Chelsea Handler leaving her niche show on the E! Network and James Corden replacing Craig Ferguson to David Letterman retiring and Jimmy Fallon starting his stint on The Tonight Show. We have prepared an ultimate list of five best hosts, who have shaped the sub-genre of talk shows, subsequently becoming one of the most highly regarded late night hosts of all time. If you haven’t already, you should explore their performances on YouTube as soon as you can.

JOHNNY CARSON

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Legend of late night television, Johnny Carson remains the definition of The Tonight Show. He was not only able to interview his guests, but more importantly listen to their responses. Carson cared and was fascinated by what his interviewees had to say, showing his passion for people, making it extremely hard not to engage with his presence.

DAVID LETTERMAN

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Many believed he was going to replace Johnny Carson after his retirement from The Tonight Show. Although Jay Leno took the spot, Letterman was able to become an industry by hosting a number of talk shows, before settling down at CBS. His humour is filled with intelligence, targeting a more sophisticated audience.

STEPHEN COLBERT

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It is not surprising that Colbert is replacing Letterman later this year, since he also is an advocate of humour and intelligence mixed together. He is not only capable of poking fun at people, but more importantly making valuable political statements.

CONAN O’BRIEN

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This Irish Catholic-raised comedian was initially criticised for his poor hosting abilities. His humour is often described as awkward. O’Brien is known for his love of improvisation. Smart and dumb approach to hosting ‘Conan’ proves that basic cable is not stopping O’Brien from being entertaining.

JON STEWART

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Satirical commentary to national and international news stories, the late night show presented by Jon Stewart is often more absorbing than watching a news program. Stewart created a new way of approaching late night television by focusing on what he finds relevant without becoming a photocopy of so many other talk show hosts.

Words by Jakub Szweda

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