Stephen Colbert is coming for a late night throne that used to belong exclusively to Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. The shows' fortunes seem to have gone in reverse directions since Jimmy Fallon tousled Donald Trump's hair during a campaign appearance on the program.
The New York Times wrote at length about how The Late Show is finally becoming the best show that it can be. The Late Show has beaten Fallon's Tonight Show in the ratings for nine consecutive weeks. That means one thing: Pizza.
Here's how the Times describes it.
"Mr. Colbert was losing by more than a million viewers to Mr. Fallon and feeling pressure from within CBS, which had named him the successor to David Letterman with much fanfare. The company’s chief executive, Leslie Moonves, had serious concerns about the show, and the network’s 12:35 a.m. host, James Corden, was outshining him.
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"And now?
"'It’s pizza day,' Mr. Colbert said in his 12th-floor office last Tuesday.
"Throughout the offices of The Late Show, staff members could be heard saying, 'Pizza! Pizza!' — celebrating a reward that comes on Tuesdays when they beat The Tonight Show in the ratings."
The Times points out, accurately, that the national tides have shifted since Fallon was thumping Colbert. This is funny but small potatoes compared to the original Late Night Wars, which pitted Leno against Letterman in a battle that included a lot of subterfuge. Jay Leno, for example, hid in the closet to spy on a meeting between Letterman and network brass. Let's see Fallon do that. Seriously, please.