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The internet is dumb and the joke parade is fun, but there is something heavier riding on \u201cAfter Midnight.\u201d That is, of course, the well-documented fact that Tomlinson is the lone woman headlining a late-night network show, a form historically dominated by men. Although a number of women have won a late-night slot in recent years, only a couple of their shows have lasted more than a few seasons. After a while, news coverage of their appointments tends to have a \u201cGroundhog Day\u201d effect. The title of \u201conly woman in late night\u201d sure has been applied to a lot of people.<\/p>\n
Funny enough, the <\/strong>American late-night talk show began with a woman. \u201cThe Faye Emerson Show,\u201d starring the titular actor, ran from 1949 to 1951. Considered the first of its kind, it featured political conversation as well as guests like Duke Ellington, \u00c9dith Piaf and Steve Allen, who would become the first host of \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d in 1953. Late night quickly transformed into a boys\u2019 club, though. Hosts became beloved institutions, with Johnny Carson (31 seasons) and Jay Leno (22 seasons) enjoying long tenures on \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201d and David Letterman leading \u201cThe Late Show\u201d for 23 seasons. Today\u2019s late-night mainstays \u2014 Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon \u2014 have been hosting their shows for between nine (Colbert) and 22 seasons (Kimmel).<\/p>\n Joan Rivers broke through with \u201cThe Late Show Starring Joan Rivers\u201d in 1986, the culmination of more than two decades of appearances on Carson\u2019s program, including three years as his permanent guest host. (\u201cIt\u2019s simply a question of ratings,\u201d an NBC aide told The Times in 1983, when Rivers got the job as Carson\u2019s permanent substitute. \u201cShe pulls them in better than anybody else.\u201d) But despite her track record, \u201cThe Late Show Starring Joan Rivers\u201d didn\u2019t last: She was replaced as the show\u2019s full-time host the following year. Some woman-led late-night cable shows have had substantial runs more recently, including \u201cFull Frontal With Samantha Bee\u201d (seven seasons) and Chelsea Handler\u2019s \u201cChelsea Lately\u201d (eight seasons). But it\u2019s easier to find shorter-lived projects, like \u201cThe Mo\u2019Nique Show,\u201d \u201cThe Wanda Sykes Show,\u201d \u201cThe Rundown With Robin Thede,\u201d \u201cA Little Late With Lilly Singh,\u201d \u201cThe Amber Ruffin Show\u201d and \u201cZiwe.\u201d It\u2019s telling that all of those shows were hosted by women of color.<\/p>\n Where women have become talk-show titans, however, is on daytime television. These programs have long been a space for hosts like Oprah Winfrey, Wendy Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and the women of \u201cThe View\u201d to build their empires. Daytime talk-show viewership remains overwhelmingly female, so you can see an argument that audiences would want women sitting in the host\u2019s chair. But women have also, in recent years, made up a majority of late-night talk-show viewers. So you have to wonder: Which sexist justification is given for denying women long-term hosting gigs? Is it that they don\u2019t have the comedic skills to pull off the monologue? Does the authority conferred by the late-night desk inspire the vague feeling that an affable man should be in charge, while women are better suited to the \u201ccoffee with your friends\u201d energy of daytime shows?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n