Though a quick glance at the 2025 TV schedule may not immediately indicate the current in-flux nature of late night TV talk shows, recent headlines are pretty clear about laying out troublesome indications. CBS dropped the cancellation axe on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, causing its host (and South Park) to go semi-scorched earth on parent company Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance Media, with at least one more host possibly in the crosshairs. But what about his friendly rivals on other networks like Jimmy Fallon?
On the surface, The Tonight Show’s future looks pretty set in stone, as does Late Night with Seth Meyers, given that both shows are part of NBCUniversal and aren’t in the Paramount family. But considering Meyers has gone just as hard as Colbert has on political comedy and commentary in recent years, with Fallon taking more of a softball approach, is it possible the entirety of late night TV will come to a grinding halt before Donald Trump leaves office again?
Why The Tonight Show And Late Night Are Likely Safe (For Now)
Over a year before CBS' Late Show decision, both Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon negotiated contract extensions that, barring any major discreptancies, will keep them on the air for several more years. In May 2024, Meyers extended his deal to keep hosting Late Night through 2028, while also extending his and Mike Shoemaker's production company Sethmaker Shoemeyers' overall deal with Universal Studio Group.
Meanwhile, in June 2024, Fallon made a similar deal that will keep The Tonight Show going until at least 2028. At the time, the SNL vet voiced the wild hope that he aimed to stick around the late night scene for as long as Johnny Carson, who famously hosted The Tonight Show for 30 years. Granted, both of those extensions happened before Donald Trump returned to the White House and started getting litigious with TV networks.
Another reason why Jimmy Fallon's late night future seems fairly safe is that he's also invested in a pair of NBC's current and upcoming unscripted primetime offerings. He's an executive producer on the recently debuted and Martin Short-hosted game show Password, where he'll also be part of the celebrity panels.
As well, he's hosting the new reality competition series On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, which will pit marketing professionals against each other involving consumer-based challenges like commercial jingles, product designs and more. The show will debut in the fall and will air on both Tuesday and Friday nights.
Why Some Are Still Worried About The Tonight Show And Late Night's Futures
Perhaps the biggest factor here is just the worry that anything seemingly set in stone can suddenly get upended, as it went with The Late Show. But it isn't just the fates of other shows that has sparked concerns.
One of CBS and Paramount's biggest reported reasons for cancelling The Late Show is tied to the show's allegedly dismal financial situation. Colbert doesn't produce the kind of viral social media clips that bring extra eyeballs and advertisers to Fallon, Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel's shows. But while those do give the NBC shows an advantage, both series took money-saving creative hits in 2024 after contract extensions were made.
As one insider reminded Page Six, that was the point when NBC cut back on episode counts for The Tonight Show, with Jimmy Fallon no longer recording episodes five days a week.
Seth and Jimmy had budget cuts last year, which saw Jimmy go from five days a week to four days. He records Monday through Thursday and the show repeats on Friday.
What's more, Late Night with Seth Meyers' band members (as fronted by Fred Armisen) were given the pink slip in 2024 as a cost-saving measure. It would appear that both of those decisions were good enough to keep both shows running normally otherwise, but how long with that homeostasis stay intact before producers are required to find other elements to snip out?
Another element at play here is that Donald Trump's influence and outrage have largely revolved around CBS and Paramount in recent weeks. But if that attention should get redirected at NBCUniversal, it's possible that his actions could lead to NBC execs making difficult decisions with its two remaining late night staples.
Again, though, all seems safe for now, so there's no better time to celebrate it, even as Colbert's friends, former co-workers and current staffers are airing their grief about The Late Show ending in 2026.
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