The following is a list of programs that are currently airing or have previously aired during the
late night daypart on American
television networks and streaming services.
The
Les Crane Show (November 9, 1964–February 25, 1965) – interview/
tabloid talk format with audience questions
ABC's Nightlife (March 1–November 12, 1965) – talk/variety series serving as a reformatting of The Les Crane Show; originally featured rotating hosts, before Crane returned as host in June 1965
Wide World of Entertainment (January 8, 1973–October 22, 1982, retitled ABC Late Night in January 1976) – originally a block of comedy/variety programs, talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett (The Dick Cavett Show) and
Jack Paar (Jack Paar Tonite), concerts, documentaries and specials; reformatted as ABC Late Night in 1976, featuring reruns of ABC prime time shows (such as Soap, The Love Boat and Starsky & Hutch)
Nightline Up Close (July 8, 2002–January 24, 2003) –
ABC News spin-off of Nightline, featuring one-on-one interviews conducted by
Ted Koppel; temporary replacement for Politically Incorrect following cancellation due to Maher's comments about the perpetrators of the
September 11 attacks
The Faye Emerson Show (October 24, 1949–June 22, 1951) – 15-minute chat show, began as an East Coast program before expanding to the full network, airing three nights a week, by March 1950; Emerson also concurrently hosted a show on NBC for several months in 1950.[1]
The CBS Late Movie (February 14, 1972–September 20, 1985) – originally formatted as a weeknight movie showcase; began incorporating reruns of CBS series as well as some first-run British imported series during the block's timeslot in 1977
CBS News Nightwatch (October 3, 1982–March 27, 1992) – overnight topical discussion program; hosted by
Harold Dow,
Christopher Glenn, Karen Stone, Felicia Jeter, Mary Jo West (1982–84) and
Charlie Rose (1984–90); various hosts were used from 1990 to 1992[2]
CBS Late Night (September 23, 1985–January 6, 1989, October 30, 1989–March 29, 1991) – reformatting of The CBS Late Movie block featuring reruns of CBS series, imported and first-run programs; block was replaced by The Pat Sajak Show in January 1989, and returned following the reduction of Sajak to an hour-long format (from 90 minutes)
Keep on Cruisin' (January–June 1987) – weekly variety series produced by
Dick Clark; hosted by
Stephen Bishop and
Sinbad; aired Fridays
In Person from the Palace (June–August 1987) – weekly music series produced by
Dick Clark, featuring taped concert performances from the
Palace Theater in Hollywood; aired Fridays
The Pat Sajak Show (January 9, 1989–April 13, 1990) with
Dan Miller as announcer/sidekick and
Tom Scott as bandleader. Originally 90 minutes, reduced to 60 minutes in its second season when guest hosts were used on Friday nights including
Paul Rodriguez and
Rush Limbaugh
America Tonight Friday (October 7, 1990–March 29, 1991) – Friday edition hosted by
Robert Krulwich and Edie Magnus
Crimetime After Primetime (April 1, 1991–January 5, 1995) – weeknight showcase of first-run and Canadian-imported crime dramas
Personals (September 1991–December 1992) –
dating game show in which a contestant would choose from three potential dates; the final round featured a series of yes or no questions for the winning couple, with a date destination that declined in quality each time their answers were incompatible (ranging from as high as an exotic location to as low as a trip to
Pink's Hot Dogs'
Los Angeles stand); hosted by
Michael Burger
Night Games (October 1991–June 1992) – dating show in which three men and three women are asked questions containing sexual innuendo, with the winning contestant choosing whom he or she would take on a date; hosted by Jeff Marder, with
Luann Lee as his announcer/assistant
Up to the Minute (March 30, 1992–September 18, 2015) – overnight newscast; replaced CBS News Nightwatch
The Kids in the Hall (September 18, 1992–January 6, 1995) – sketch comedy series, aired Fridays; moved from HBO
The Talk After Dark (January 12–16, 2015) – nighttime edition of CBS daytime program; temporary replacement for the Late Late Show during transition from Craig Ferguson to James Corden.
CBS Summer Showcase (May 21–September 7, 2015) – showcase of CBS drama reruns; temporary replacement for the Late Show during transition from David Letterman to Stephen Colbert as host.
Comics Unleashed (September 18, 2023–January 16, 2024) – limited run of repeats and unaired episodes of the syndicated comedic panel talk show hosted by
Byron Allen; served as a temporary replacement for the Late Late Show with James Corden until the premiere of After Midnight, which had halted pre-production due to the
2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
Party Time at Club Roma (October 1950–January 1951) – variety show hosted by
Ben Alexander, described as "part Truth or Consequences-type stunt show and part talent contest".[4]
Mary Kay's Nightcap (June 1951–July 1952) – 15-minute
sign-off show in which
Mary Kay Stearns would preview NBC's schedule for the following day, with occasional interviews.[5][6]
The Tomorrow Show (October 15, 1973–December 17, 1981, retitled Tomorrow Coast to Coast in September 1980) – hosted by
Tom Snyder and co-hosted by
Rona Barrett from October 1980 until mid-1981; aired Monday–Thursday nights following The Tonight Show, with reruns continuing following its cancellation until January 28, 1982
The Midnight Special (February 2, 1973–May 1, 1981) – music series; aired Friday nights
Weekend (October 20, 1974–December 1978) –
NBC News newsmagazine hosted by
Lloyd Dobyns, and co-hosted in its final year by
Linda Ellerbee; aired about one week per month in lieu of Saturday Night Live reruns, before being moved to prime time until it ended in April 1979
NBC News Overnight (July 5, 1982–December 3, 1983) – overnight news/discussion program; hosted by Lloyd Dobyns (later replaced by Bill Schechner) and Linda Ellerbee
Friday Night Videos (July 29, 1983–May 24, 2002, retitled Friday Night in 1994) – weekly series; originally formatted as a music video showcase, converted to a variety format in 1994
Late Friday (January 5, 2001–May 24, 2002) – reformat of Friday Night focused on stand-up comedy routines
Saturday Night's Main Event (May 11, 1985–April 27, 1991) – World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now
WWE) wrestling showcase; aired occasionally as filler in place of Saturday Night Live reruns
Later (August 22, 1988–January 18, 2001) – switched between one-on-one interview (1988–1994, 2000–2001) and conventional late-night talk/monologue formats (1994–2000) during its run; reruns of SCTV Network 90 aired under the Later banner for the latter's final year after its talk format was discontinued in January 2001
Last Call with Carson Daly (January 8, 2002–May 24, 2019) – originally maintained conventional late-night talk/comedy format; switched to on-location, documentary-style interview format in 2009
A Little Late with Lilly Singh (September 16, 2019–June 3, 2021) – replaced Last Call with Carson Daly in the 1:37 a.m. ET timeslot; format was a mixture of interviews, comedy sketches, and commentary "rants"
Comic Strip Live (August 12, 1989–January 15, 1994) – weekly stand-up comedy series; depending on the
market, it aired on either Saturday or Sunday evening
The Chevy Chase Show (September 7–October 1, 1993) – infamously panned talk show cancelled after a five-week run, which became Fox's last regular weekday late night programming effort to date
Monodrama Theater (May 1952–December 7, 1953) – variety series, aired Monday–Friday at 11:00 p.m. ET, featuring an actress or actor performing plays solo in front of a curtain in a form of
monodrama
The Ernie Kovacs Show (April 12, 1954–April 7, 1955) – the DuMont version of the program aired Monday–Friday 11:15 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. ET, ending as the network began winding down operations; Kovacs moved to NBC and hosted the Tonight Show on Mondays and Tuesdays for one season
Beyond 100 Days (January 2–September 6, 2018) – rebroadcast of BBC World News world affairs newscast primarily covering the early days of the
Donald Trump presidency
BBC World News on PBS (January 12–September 7, 2018) – late night international newscast
This list does not include the numerous
game shows aired during the mid-1980s that often received late-night clearances (such as the 1985 run of The Nighttime Price Is Right) but were not expressly intended for late night audiences, nor does it include
talk shows meant for daytime broadcast that air in late night slots in many markets due to either low ratings in their original timeslot, a lack of an available prime daytime slot or as a secondary run.
The Steve Allen Show (April 1968–November 1969) – a revival of Allen's original Tonight format; syndicated by
Filmways
The Jon Stewart Show (September 12, 1994–June 23, 1995) – Season 1 originated on
MTV; season 2 was syndicated by Paramount Domestic Television
Last Call (September 12, 1994–September 1995) – discussion show featuring five panelists (which included, among others,
John Melendez and
Brianne Leary), syndicated by MCA Television
Comics Unleashed with
Byron Allen (September 2006–September 2007, 2014; reruns still airing on local stations) – syndicated by
Entertainment Studios (now Allen Media Group Television); repeats and some previously unaired episodes aired on CBS from 2023 to 2024 as a temporary replacement for The Late Late Show during the transition to its timeslot successor After Midnight.
The Merv Griffin Show (February 14, 1972–September 5, 1986) –
King World assumed syndication rights in 1984, although the show continued to be carried on Metromedia-owned stations until shortly after the group's sale to Fox/
News Corporation in 1986
Programs syndicated by Group W Productions aired on Westinghouse-owned stations and were syndicated to other markets; merged with
CBS in 1996 to become
Eyemark Entertainment, and folded into
King World in 2000 by CBS.
The Steve Allen Show (July 1962–October 1964) – a revival of Allen's original Tonight format; unofficially known as "The Steve Allen Westinghouse Show" or "The Steve Allen Playhouse" (in reference to the renamed theater that served as its taping location) to distinguish it from the prime time show of the same name
Talking Saul (February 15, 2016–August 8, 2022) – live aftershow discussing episodes of the AMC scripted drama Better Call Saul (during seasons
2–
3 and
6), hosted by Chris Hardwick
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (July 25, 1993–November 5, 1996) – topical panel talk show; subsequently moved to ABC, where it continued until September 2002
USA Up All Night (January 1989–March 1998) – B movie showcase; hosted by
Gilbert Gottfried and, for much of its run,
Rhonda Shear; title remained in use after the program's cancellation as an umbrella title for USA's late-night movie presentations until 2002.
^Total duration includes allocated commercial time, unless otherwise noted.
^First-run episodes air Monday–Thursdays (except on certain major federal holidays) during weeks when the program is in production; Friday episodes are typically reserved for reruns, although recorded first-run episodes occasionally air on certain Fridays.
^Since November 2005, Nightline has maintained a rotating anchor format; presenters listed each solo anchor on assigned nights.
^
abcTransmitted in a continuous
tape delayed loop until 8:00 a.m. ET/PT for stations in westward time zones to
air at accordant airtimes. Local airtimes may vary (usually to be joined in progress) depending on scheduling of late-night syndicated programs, network early-morning newscasts and, except where inapplicable, local morning newscasts as well as delays caused by overruns from network event programming.
^During weeks when the program is in production, Monday–Thursday episodes (except on certain major federal holidays) are taped and broadcast on a same-day basis; Friday episodes are recorded following production of the Thursday episode.
^First-run episodes air Monday–Thursdays (except on certain major federal holidays) during weeks when the program is in production; Friday episodes are typically reserved for reruns year-round.
^On September 11, 2017, NBC began feeding Early Today to its owned and affiliated stations at 3:00 a.m. ET (since moved to 2:30 a.m. ET). The early morning newscast's shift to an earlier live feed—which replaced the second hour of the overnight block formerly branded as "NBC All Night" (then offering a same-day repeat of
CNBC's Mad Money) and intended to accommodate expansions of local morning newscasts into the 4:00/4:30 a.m. slot in some markets—resulted in Early Today doubling as a de facto overnight newscast, of which NBC had not offered since the 1998 cancellation of NBC Nightside.
^
abcdRunning time does not include commercials (note that certain listed cable networks maintain commercial-free programming formats and listed streaming services maintain ad-free tiers, and therefore the program length mentioned alongside this explanatory note is the total running time).