So what's the reasoning behind it? Why is late night stuck in this endless cycle that lacks both diversity and creativity?
The tradition of a male late night host has continued ever since Carson graced the stage. Networks continually throne men as the new "king of late night" for all to watch and laugh with. It's an easy choice, the safest bet.
Even within the last five years, the retirement of two late night legends (Jay Leno for the second time and David Letterman) meant only good news for more white male hosts. Even smaller late night shows got revamped recently, with both Seth Meyers and James Corden getting their time to shine. With all of these changes in late night in the past few years, it seems almost purposeful that a woman was passed over in order for a man to take over a well-established late night show.
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Colbert acknowleding former "Late Show" host Letterman.
Why is this so? Well, throw a male in the late night spotlight and he won't pose any risk for failure. Why should he, when the formula has worked for so many years? Meanwhile, a woman in that same seat automatically has a target on her back, with the odds already stacked against her.
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Not that women haven't had their chance. Sure, there have been women hosting late night talk shows here and there, but none have had the longevity or success like the men on big cable networks. Their shows are never given the time to grow, where low ratings mean cancellation without a second thought.
There is real potential within these shows, but because a woman is hosting, the pressure is on to be an overnight hit. And when that doesn't happen, their golden opportunity to host a late night show is taken away.
Maybe we have to take a look at the role women play in the entertainment industry to see where the problem truly lies. Women make up less than 27% of television writers, even though women watch an average of 40 more minutes of programming per day than men. So even though women are watching more television, they are the minority when it comes to behind the scenes action. It's a glaring reminder that the sexist attitudes off screen translate on screen as well. Let's not even dive into the issues women face in the working world today, what with them making 79 cents to every man's dollar. Women and their careers are constantly being undermined in order for the man to come on top.
As mentioned before, daytime programming seems to be where women are able to find an audience and critical acclaim as hosts. There is a clear audience for female hosts during the daytime, with women making up 73% of daily viewers. There's a typical stereotype that seems to go along with daytime television - only stay at home mothers and the elderly make up the audience.
So here's the way things are looking right now. Based off this evidence, this is how the public views male and female hosts - women can host only during the day, because that's the time of day other women are watching TV. Then men get late night, when the man comes home and wants to relax from a long day of work by watching James Corden sing in the car with Chris Martin. That's the way it seems, at least.
But the facts prove otherwise - both Jimmy Kimmel and and Jay Leno had a larger female to male audience ratio in 2013. The same was true back in the early 90's, where there were 20% more women watching "The Tonight Show" than men. The numbers don't lie; if anything, they ring true to this day. Therefore, this tired stereotype that a female can't host late night because of a primarily male audience just doesn't hold any value.
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If a woman is given a real shot at hosting after hours, and can fight through the ratings hoopla that so many exectuvies and producers seem to live and breathe by, then maybe their program can find a permanent place in our modern world of late night.