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Late night TV viewers, to the extent they still exist outside of those whose Advil PM kicks in during the local news, tend to be a fickle crew. Barring big lead-in moments, like sports or debates or wars, the audiences for the remaining broadcast shows (plus The Daily Show!) are pretty steady. It often takes a defining moment to cause a shift: Letterman decamping NBC for CBS in 1993; Leno’s sex worker interrogation of Hugh Grant; Conan’s 2010 firing and the #TeamCoco movement; and, more recently, Colbert going full #Resistance after the 2016 election.
