Who is the King of late-night TV? Stephen “I hate Republicans” Colbert? No. Jimmy “I kiss Fauci’s ass” Kimmel? No. Jimmy Fallon? No.
The late-night TV King is Greg Gutfeld whose show “Gutfeld!” is on the Fox Cable News Network. In the latest ratings Gutfeld! had 2.3 million views; Colbert had 2.1 million views and Kimmel had 1 million views.
Gutfeld’s rise has been steady since his weekly show became nightly in 2021. Gutfeld’s conservative focus is a little nuanced. He said “I became a conservative by being around liberals, and I became a libertarian by being around conservatives.” His show has been a welcome addition to the late-night time slot that has for several years been dominated by hosts who have had a robotic-like focus on mocking Trump and conservatives.
Gutfeld said “If you cannot tell the other late-night shows apart, join the club.” He said “it’s the same jokes, same assumptions, probably the same writers, all reading the same columns from the same hacks in the NY Times.”
Gutfeld’s snarky opening monologue is high energy and fast paced. His humor is definitely off-beat and sometimes leaves him hanging waiting for the audience to laugh or clap.
One example of Gutfeld’s humor: “87,000 new IRS agents who are ready to shoot to kill if you claim that lap dances are a business deduction, so much for supporting single mothers.” Another example: “Liz (Cheney) and Abe (Lincoln) have one thing in common, their love of theater did them in.”
Part of Gutfeld’s success is his aiming for an audience (conservatives) that late-night tv shows have not only ignored but mocked and demeaned. Johnny Carson and Jay Leno managed to appeal to the whole political spectrum during their stints in late-night TV. Today, Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon appeal solely to the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic party.
The left-wingers in the entertainment community are so scared of Gutfeld’s success they put pressure on entertainment figures to boycott Gutfeld’s show. The entertainment industry is happy to produce a movie about the evils of McCarthyism while they practice the same blacklisting tactics against conservatives. Gutfeld has not let their tactics hinder his ability to produce a funny and entertaining product.
Finally, the conservative audience has a lite-night show to enjoy. Hopefully, Gutfeld! can have a greater impact by causing the other networks to moderate their left-wing focus.
