CBSAll eyes were on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. Literally.
The new CBS late-night series opened to 6.6 million viewers with a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, easily topping its biggest competition on Tuesday night. However, it came short when stacked up against other major late-night events.
Compare Stephen Colbert's debut to other recent late-night talk show events: David Letterman's final The Late Show had 13.76 million viewers in May and Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show debut clocked 11.31 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
Still, on Tuesday night, Fallon attracted 2.92 million viewers, while Jimmy Kimmel Live snagged 1.75 million, making Colbert the night's clear winner. But there's no bad blood between the late-night gang, as Fallon made a surprise appearance during Colbert's debut.
For his premiere episode, Colbert welcomed guests Jeb Bush and George Clooney and musical guest Mavis Staples (along with many of her famous friends). Jon Stewart, an executive producer on the series, made a cameo appearance, as did CBS boss Leslie Moonves.
Other guests for Colbert's first week include Scarlett Johansson, Elon Musk, Kendrick Lamar, Toby Keith, Vice President Joe Biden, Amy Schumer and Stephen King. Guests for his second week include Carol Burnett, Broad City's Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, Emily Blunt, Lupita Nyong'o, Senator Bernie Sanders and Kevin Spacey.