Late night comedians have played an increasingly pivotal role in American society in recent years, often serving as educators and activists as opposed to apathetic and impartial entertainers. A decent portion of the population relies on these television personalities for their news consumption, lending the hosts a prestige that their 20th-century counterparts such as Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Jay Leno did not enjoy. Their comfort with their elevated profiles was made possible by prior comedy work that honed their talents and introduced them to global audiences.
Stephen Colbert — The Colbert Report
Colbert, the highest-rated late night talk show host according to The Colbert Report likely allowed for his current domination of the genre, with his hosting role for the latter program proving him as a sharp comedic mind and a wildly intelligent satirist.
Those who closely followed Colbert's earlier work are likely not surprised by his current standing as one of America's most prominent comedians.
James Corden — Gavin & Stacey
British transplant James Corden was largely unknown to American audiences when he was announced as the beloved Craig Ferguson's successor, but he will be leaving people who could replace Corden.)
Comedy aficionados in the United Kingdom likely knew the performer prior to his current program for his co-starring role in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Like Colbert, Corden pivoted from acting to presenting, and his ease with live performance allowed him to undergo the transition smoothly.
Jimmy Fallon — Saturday Night Live
Prior to entering the late night scene as the guardian of NBC's 12:30 timeslot, Fallon served as a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1998 until 2004, where he gained notoriety for his impeccable impressions and his cool delivery as co-anchor of the Weekend Update segment.
He has indisputably maintained one of the most impressive and high-profile careers of any SNL alum — as evidenced by Jimmy Fallon's best movies — which can likely be attributed to his positive disposition and his commitment to achieving the widest appeal manageable. The Tonight Show host was the first person to claim a late night talk show following their tenure on the weekly sketch comedy series.
Seth Meyers — Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update
While Fallon supplemented his Weekend Update appearances by portraying an array of characters in unrelated sketches, Seth Meyers was primarily a writer outside of his duties as anchor of the satirical news segment.
Meyers served as head writer of SNL for several years, fostering the comedic sensibility that he would later apply to his exceptionally popular and notably influential late night talk show. He clearly remains fond of the comedy institution that allowed for his career, given that SNL creator Lorne Michaels serves as executive producer of Late Night and the program is filmed in close proximity to Saturday Night Live's studio.
Jimmy Kimmel — The Man Show
Late night titan Jimmy Kimmel's current public image sharply contrasts the reputation he held upon entering the public eye in the late 1990s. Kimmel's most notable project prior to Jimmy Kimmel Live! was Comedy Central's The Man Show, a politically incorrect and unabashedly male series that he co-hosted alongside controversial comedian Adam Corolla.
The ABC program's social consciousness and respect for marginalized demographics were often absent from the Comedy Central series, suggesting that Kimmel then lacked the maturity that clearly inspires the enlightened perspective he now holds as one of the best talk show hosts from the U.S. or the U.K.
John Oliver — The Daily Show
John Oliver has impacted public discourse to an extent that comedians were largely incapable of in prior decades, meeting the core requirements of journalism more regularly and more effectively than a significant share of proper reporters is able to.
He developed this inquisitiveness and skepticism toward authority as the "Senior British Correspondent" for highest-rated late night talk show by IMDb.
Trevor Noah — Daily Show Correspondent
Jon Stewart's successor as host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, has provided a perspective to the program that radically diverges from that of his former boss. Noah ed the Comedy Central program's staff as a recent immigrant from South Africa, where he had been raised under the brutal thumb of apartheid.
Despite this background of adversity, Noah was noticeably upbeat and playful during his appearances as a correspondent, and he applied this combination of optimism and worldly experience when he assumed the hosting position.
Samantha Bee — The Daily Show
Like John Oliver and Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee applied the talents that she had displayed as a Daily Show correspondent to a program of her own. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is strikingly similar to the segments in which the comedian appeared on Jon Stewart's program, with Bee delivering imioned arguments that are peppered with ruthless wit and unrestrained fury.
The sway that Bee holds with much of progressive America was ensured, in large part, by her commitment to remaining comedic despite the increasingly-daunting nature of current events.
Bill Maher — Politically Incorrect
Bill Maher's original program, Politically Incorrect, was markedly similar to HBO's Real Time in format — both featured discussions rather than interviews with individual guests — and his current show inherited its controversial nature and warm embrace of free speech from its predecessor.
While several of the current late night talk show hosts established themselves as secondary players on series helmed by others, Maher was in full command of his prior project, performing each episode's monologue and guiding the debates that served as Politically Incorrect's signature segment.