Election Results In: Comedy Wins

Big guns play second fiddle for first time in years

(NEWSER) - It’s been a good few weeks for Jon Stewart: The Daily Show was the top-rated late-night talk show in October—the first such show in at least a decade whose full month’s average beat Letterman’s and Leno’s, says the Hollywood Reporter . Stewart reeled in 1.3 million viewers, compared to 1.2 million each for the Late Show and Tonight Show. More»

Late Show host calls infidelity 'stupid behavior'

(NEWSER) - David Letterman is dead set on repairing his marriage after the infidelity that led to an extortion attempt last year, People reports. Appearing on Live! With Regis and Kelly, Letterman likened the events of last year to "an explosion," saying, "You're looking at the shards and you say, 'Well, can we put this back together?' And by God, maybe you can put it back together. And maybe it won't be the same, but maybe it will be different, and maybe it can even be better in a different way." More»

David Letterman still wins, but he's in a class of his own

(NEWSER) - Despite all the publicity heaped upon them in recent weeks, there are more late night hosts than just Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. After years of following the major late night shows, Michael Giltz decided the time has come to declare a new king. His final verdict? Craig Ferguson, but only if you take David Letterman out of the running. Check out his thoughts, from the Huffington Post :

• David Letterman: “He's already ascended to the pantheon, alongside Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Dick Cavett, and just a few others. His legacy is assured, so he doesn't get ranked alongside the others.”
• Craig Ferguson: “He's been charming the pants off us for some 1000 shows now and doing it effortlessly,” and last night’s show—during which he eschewed the audience and simply talked to Stephen Fry for an hour—“was an arresting, wonderful hour akin to the glory days of Dick Cavett.”

Buys Kentucky Derby winner and sticks NBC with the bill

(NEWSER) - Conan O'brien upped the ante last night in his war with NBC, following his $1.5 million sketch Wednesday night with one he said cost $4.8 million. He spent that amount, he said, buying Mine That Bird, the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner, putting him in a horse-sized mink snuggie, and having him watching restricted NFL Superbowl footage. Conan gleefully called the escalating bits "not so much funny as they are crazy expensive." More»

O'Brien-NBC deal said to be $45 million; tomorrow's his last Tonight Show

(NEWSER) - NBC and Conan O’Brien reached a pricey divorce early today, but that didn’t slow the Tonight Show host's relentless tirade against the network last night. A constant stream of monologue disses wasn’t enough, so O’Brien unveiled his latest revenge scheme: Waste as much of the network’s money as possible (watch full episode here ). Guest Adam Sandler then offered up his own story of being fired by NBC (watch in the gallery, along with other clips including Jay Leno bashing David Letterman’s married life and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's two cents). Updates on the Conan deal: More»