Greg Gutfeld, Fox’s Late-Night King, Joins Fallon For Rare Crossover

Fox host Greg Gutfeld

Greg Gutfeld, the host of Fox’s “Gutfeld!”, shown at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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Greg Gutfeld’s appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show later this week not only marks the Fox News Channel host’s first appearance on one of the major late-night TV talk shows.

It also comes at a time when the Fox host’s star is on the rise, given the new Fox Nation game show he hosts in addition to his regular nightly Fox talk show. And, more importantly, his upcoming Jimmy Fallon appearance on Thursday coincides with Gutfeld increasingly proving to be the exception to the late night talk show rule.

While the economics and key metrics for traditional late-night talk TV remain in terminal decline — and with CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and its veteran host set to disappear altogether next year — Fox’s motormouth funnyman is quite possibly the only late-night host without a reason to be looking over his shoulder at the moment. In fact, the latest Nielsen data points to Gutfeld continuing to dominate the late-night landscape, his Gutfeld! being the highest-rated in the genre (averaging a little over 3.1 million viewers and just shy of 400,000 in the key demo).

Since the announcement of Colbert’s cancellation alone, Gutfeld’s ratings are up 11% in terms of total viewers and 4% in the demo.

What makes Gutfeld’s ascent even more remarkable is how lean his operation is compared to the network shows he now outperforms. While CBS reportedly burned through a staggering $100 million annually to produce Colbert’s show — which included a staff of around 200 — Gutfeld! runs much leaner.

Fox’s Greg Gutfeld is winning the late-night ratings war.

I haven’t been able to nail down an official exact figure but have nevertheless heard that the budget for Gutfeld! doesn’t even approach double-digit millions, and that the show’s team numbers around 20 people. No wonder former late-night host Samantha Bee commented just days ago that CBS’ cancellation of Colbert was a “no-brainer,” given the fact that the show was “definitely hemorrhaging money.”

Likewise, it’s no surprise that Gutfeld couldn’t resist a bit of teasing during his Friday episode, when he alluded to Colbert’s recent interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris: “While Colbert interviews a loser, Jimmy Fallon invites … a winner.” Gutfeld’s audience applauded as he went on to plug his upcoming chat with Fallon. “It’s the biggest crossover since the Harlem Globetrotters visited the Golden Girls.” He continued: “Unlike the other guys, Jimmy sitting with me proves he’s not afraid of upsetting his peers or afraid of my mesmerizing charm.”