Talk Show Hosts in 2026: Who Hosts What Now, Who Left, and Who Replaced Stephen Colbert

Quick answer: Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, Stewart and Andy Cohen still have their desks; Whoopi Goldberg's panel still has The View; and nobody replaced Stephen Colbert — CBS retired the show. Three hosts left in 2026: Colbert, Sherri Shepherd and Kelly Clarkson.

Three names left American talk television in 2026, and one 11:35 slot changed hands for the first time since 1993. The map below is current as of Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.

Who hosts late night in 2026?

Jimmy Fallon has The Tonight Show on NBC at 11:35, Monday through Thursday, in his thirteenth year. Jimmy Kimmel holds ABC's 11:35 hour on the same four nights, making him the longest-serving host in the current slate.

Seth Meyers follows Fallon at 12:35 a.m. on NBC, where Late Night has been his since 2014. Jon Stewart hosts The Daily Show on Mondays, with the show's correspondents rotating through the rest of the week.

Andy Cohen still runs Watch What Happens Live on Bravo, the only one of these that is half an hour and the only one that regularly airs on Sundays.

Who took over CBS at 11:35?

Not a host in the traditional sense. When The Late Show ended in May, CBS handed the slot to Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed and put the game show Funny You Should Ask at 12:35.

Stephen Colbert had held that desk for eleven seasons, and David Letterman for twenty-two before him. CBS retired the franchise rather than replacing him, calling it a financial decision.

Who hosts daytime?

The View is a panel, not a solo desk: Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar have been there longest, joined by Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro for Season 30.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are in their fifth season hosting Live as a couple (the show itself counts Season 39), though Ripa's own run at that desk goes back to 2001. Drew Barrymore opened her seventh season on Sept. 14, with an eighth already ordered. The daytime schedule has each show's time and station.

What changed this September?

The long version of the Colbert story is in our Stephen Colbert update, and the Meyers return date is tracked on is Seth Meyers new tonight.

Which hosts left in 2026?

Two of the three exits landed on the same night, May 21, which is a strange coincidence and a real one. Only Clarkson's was her own call — she announced it in February and pointed to music and her children.

How often does each host actually work?

Less than the schedule suggests. The four weeknight shows now run Monday through Thursday, so nobody in late night makes a new Friday episode; Fallon dropped his in 2024.

Stewart's arrangement is the unusual one. He hosts a single night a week and executive produces the rest, so anything that moves his Monday counts as news. It has happened twice this month: Labor Day pushed him to a Tuesday on Sept. 8, and the show skipped Monday, Sept. 14, the night of the Emmys, before Josh Johnson and Michael Kosta hosted the rest of that week. He was back on Monday, Sept. 21. Which correspondent has the desk on the other nights is listed each week in the weekly lineups.

How long has each one been at the desk?

Two things stand out. Kimmel has now outlasted every host who was on opposite him when he started, and the newest name on the list arrived six years ago — nobody has launched a successful new hosted talk show since.

Jon Stewart sits outside the table on purpose. He hosted The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015, left, and came back in 2024 on a one-night-a-week deal, which makes his tenure two separate things rather than one long run.

Who fills in when a host is out?

The Daily Show has the deepest bench, because its correspondents already carry four nights a week. The broadcast shows more often air a repeat than hand the desk to a substitute, which is why September repeats are so common.

Watch What Happens Live is the exception on the other end — Cohen is on nearly every episode, and the format collapses without him.

FAQ

Who replaced Stephen Colbert? No one, as a talk host. CBS ended the Late Show franchise and now airs Comics Unleashed at 11:35.

Does Jon Stewart host The Daily Show every night? No, Mondays. Correspondents host the other nights.

Who hosts The View in 2026? Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro.

Is Kelly Ripa still on Live? Yes, with Mark Consuelos, in their fifth season as a duo; the show counts it as Season 39.

Is Seth Meyers back? Yes — Late Night came back Monday, Sept. 21 with Kelly Clarkson, ending a run of repeats that started July 30.

Is Stephen Colbert getting another show? Not yet. As of his Sept. 15 Kimmel appearance, nothing is signed; he is co-writing a Lord of the Rings film with Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee, a project he and Peter Jackson announced in March.

Why is there no new episode on Friday? All four weeknight shows make four episodes a week — the reason, and what is new instead.

For the times these hosts are actually on, see the late-night schedule and the daytime schedule. Nightly guests go up in the late-night section and daytime section, with the full week in this week's lineups.

Sources · Listings data via TVmaze · CBS News — The Late Show ending · TV Insider — Stewart's hosting nights · TV Insider — The View's Season 30 panel · Deadline — Sherri Shepherd's farewell · TV Insider — Seth Meyers' return date

By the Talk Show On Air desk · Updated Oct. 1, 3:49 a.m. ET