Liberal Guests Outnumber Conservatives 90 To 1 On Late-Night TV In Second Half Of 2025
So much for Colbert’s recent claim that he is “more conservative than people think."
In the second half of 2025, liberal guests outnumbered conservative guests on late-night television by a count of 90 to one.
NewsBusters published the study this week after reviewing guest lists from the following shows between July 7 and December 19: Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show.
The study divided guests into two categories: partisan officials and journalists or celebrities.
Among partisan officials, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 31 to 0. Notably, former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Kimmel’s show last week, where she said the American people deserved better than the Donald Trump presidency.
So much for Colbert’s recent claim that he is "more conservative than people think."
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld was the sole right-leaning guest among 60 celebrities and journalists, with his August 7 appearance on The Tonight Show.
"Colbert led the way with 17, Kimmel came in second with seven, The Daily Show came in third with six, Meyers placed fourth with one, and Fallon interviewed zero politicians during the study’s run," NewsBusters added.
Clearly, comedy is no longer the primary objective for late-night shows on broadcast television. Each has become a propaganda arm for liberal groupthink and the Democrat Party.
And the results of the study are nothing new. NewsBusters has tracked late-night guest counts since September 2022. The cumulative total now stands at 604 liberals and Democrats compared to just 15 conservatives and Republicans — a 97 percent tilt.
The industry has suffered greatly as a result.
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. (Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Earlier this year, CBS announced that Colbert would air his final show in May 2026. According to multiple reports, his show loses around $40 million per year.
Given that Colbert remains the highest-rated host in late-night, it’s safe to assume Kimmel and Fallon aren’t making their networks much money either — if any.
With high production costs and sharply declining viewership, questions about the long-term viability of the industry are fair.
Will there be a single late-night program left on broadcast television by, say, 2035? Probably not. And the networks have only themselves to blame for making the editorial decision to wave goodbye to half the country.