Stephen Colbert’s Starting to Edge Out Jimmy Fallon in the Ratings

If anyone or anything in the media landscape is benefitting from the often-turbulent administration of President Donald J. Trump, it might well be Stephen T. Colbert.

Last week, for the first time since his debut in Sept. 2015, the former Colbert Report star and current CBS host topped Jimmy Fallon in total viewers at 2.77 million to 2.76 million.

However, as Variety points out, Fallon is still leading Colbert in the mythological 18-49 demo and Colbert’s surge may have more to do with Fallon stalling out.

The week of Thanksgiving and the ensuing weeks gave Fallon a 3.5 rating, so he’s shed about 740,000 viewers. That steadily decline might have something to do with Fallon’s frequently tepid Trump jokes that don’t quite have the same chutzpah that Colbert’s do. We imagine quite a few viewers were turned away by the hair muss heard ‘round the world, as well.

However, Fallon’s take on President Trump’s erratic Thursday press conference did have more teeth than he’s shown in the past. So he may be able to stem the tide, or Colbert will continue to supplant the former SNL performer.