Ranking a bunch of American late night TV's most legendary hosts, from Carson to Corden.
OUR SPONSOR: ridgewallet.com/fantano
CODE FOR 10% OFF: MELON
===================================
Patreon: / theneedledrop
Follow your melon:
Twitter: / theneedledrop
Instagram: / afantano
Twitch: / theneedledrop
TikTok: / theneedletok
The fact that Fantano was insightful enough to feel that Eric André did not fit a normal tier list and deserves the sole spot in the “ranch dressing” tier, proves that he’s a revolutionary S tier reviewer
Gotta hit this ranch for that one
RANCH IT UP
Eric DeAndre hidden valley ranch tier forever
QUAD RANCH cha brah
I saw this comment and thought it was the typical KZhead meme comment, but he did exactly what you said …
Conan's placement is so well deserved. It's a testament to his talent that people would rather watch him interact with his staff than celebrities, and the celeb interviews are highly entertaining to begin with.
I’ve never understood why people like him I find him unbearable, but I guess I’m the only one
@@yungjoemighty879 you are
@@yungjoemighty879 Indeed you are. I've been rewatching his remotes for year and still burst out laughing.
I don't really follow late night shows but he's always stood out to me and seems like a good dude underneath the act too. Can't stand most of the people on this list
@@yungjoemighty879 only you i guess
Lmao why'd you skip talking about Craig Ferguson though he just appeared in the B column
Yeah, Craig is an A tier to me.
@@nighttimevideo craig is S fr
Craig is S tier, no discussion!
@@lukeang5615 I won't argue with that. He deserves it. I'm from Glasgow too and seeing this Glaswegian have his own rather successful talk show in the States is so cool.
How is Craig Ferguson not S tier?! You don’t even talk about him but suddenly he just appears in B…?! A regret perhaps so you edited it out?! 😅
There's no way he put Letterman and Fallon on the same tier-level.
My man actually likes Colbert so it's not surprising
Letterman is overrated, it’s nostalgia. He’s a boring guy with less boring comedian friends that made all the memorable moments of his show over the years . Colbert had some entertaining bits when he had the Colbert report but his current show is a tough watch though.
@@sunnyd7452 His legendary NBC run alone merits god-tier level above everyone on that list, except Johnny Carson.
@@sunnyd7452 Letterman’s NBC run alone is god-tier status which puts him above everyone but Johnny Carson.
I personally think Letterman is overrated, but I also wouldn’t put him next to Fallon in the D tier. He’s B tier at best for me, maybe C.
The fact that Corden managed to avoid F tier stupefies me - I swear, he makes even Fallon look tolerable in comparison. And on top of being a charmless, toadying host, I think he _is_ supposed to be an asshole - that's why Kimmel asked him if he could even name any of his camera operators during the Spill Your Guts game, knowing damn well Corden couldn't.
James Corden isn't even unfunny, he's anti-funny. He's like an insult to comedy
Maher deserves to be at F too imo. Corden is unfunny but Maher's political takes on about anything are just the worst.
@@TheClever69 That sounds like something Critikal would say
Didn’t Corden also try to squeeze in a Weinstein joke at an AIDS event?
Who even watches him? Everything is see from him is unbearable.
Craig Ferguson deserves a S for actually not being scripted.
No
Hard agree eveb though Anthony skipped Ferguson and put him on B tier 🤡
@@noelc8927 yeah don’t know why he didn’t say anything about him
@@redshift912 y not
And he was replaced with James Corden 👹👹👹👹
Conan O’Brien is hands down the best talk show host to every grace tv broadcasting. His laugh is genuine, he’s creative, hilarious, and I always have a great time watching his show/clips.
nope there's a reason why carson was called the king of late night ✌️
@@michaelsevilla3697Carson is definitely the pioneer and king, brought the medium to what it was and was the most influential of all time. Conan is definitely the most watchable for me though, he's easy to put on for a good laugh and you just can't get sick of his hijinx. Wouldn't call him the best to ever do it, but in my age where I missed the Carson era, Conan was that to us. Tuned in every night and definitely had some of the most memorable segments compared to all the other newer ones.
Even though Conan isn't popular as other mainstream hosts, he's well respected, guests always look like they're having fun in interviews, and he has a truly loyal fan base that has followed him through all the different paths he's taken which I don't think many other hosts have.
I loved that Jimmy Kimmel destroyed Corden on his own show by daring him to name one of his camera operators, which he couldn't. Says everything about the man.
Yeah, Corden seems to be like an Ellen.
Well Corden knows the name of all his crew since covid happened....
I’m not a corden fan but it’s not really his job to know peoples names you should be mad at him for something else
@@cadenbrown8985 yeah it isn’t his job to remember their names but he’s around them so much it just shows that he just doesn’t really care enough about them to remember their names.
Kimmel isn’t any better than corden. Kimmel is a pathetic excuse for a human
Not only is Conan so fucking good at his job, he's also one of the few A list celebrities that is actually a decent human being.
my uppercase brother
king
He’s also not super political.
True
He may be a great guy, but he's also massively overrated when it comes to both his comedy and interview skills.
"Trevor Noah has years to grow into the job and get better at it" Trevor Noah a year later:
Conan is my favorite of all time. His self depreciating humor can not be touched.
No one beats Carson
Late to this but Conan's humor is definitely not self-depreciating. It would be wild if his humor made him lose money
I know he's no longer underrated but I still can't stress enough how good Conan is, he is genuinely a smart guy that knows what he's doing. Each one of his jokes lands so well, honestly a guy that I have learned so much from
I love Conan my only issue is sometimes the jokes he makes around nerdy people particularly in clueless gamer are a bit outdated but in no means offensive and maybe makes the segment better as the contrast is stronger between him and the developers
The dude did go to Harvard
He was also a producer and writer for the Simpsons on their golden age
Glad you stressed that. Id have no idea how good he was otherwise
@@jeemale9207 You're welcome bossman
I know this is an American show ranking but honestly, Graham Norton's show has probably made me laugh harder than any of these, maybe aside from Conan. Big fan of his show lol
Gotta love graham, altho his best work was in father ted 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Graham Norton is like the only talk show that I can stand, genuinely funny
Graham is the only good one
Yep that show is so funny. I miss watching it after school.
Was thinking this as well. If it weren't for Corden, I'd say British just do it better
Conan's remotes are so good and infinitely rewatchable. His bits with Jordan Schlansky are the best, the contrast between the two works so well.
After Johnny Carson passed away it was revealed in 2010 that his trust fund had left $156 million to the Johnny Carson Foundation, making it the largest Hollywood charity. Carson would donate between $1-2 million annually to his charity, funds which largely went towards children’s aid groups and local nonprofits in Nebraska and Los Angeles, and it continues to do so. Adds a lot to his character IMO.
Best monologue: Stewart Best Skits/Remotes: Conan Best Interviews: Ferguson
would swap these all out for Eric
@@drewx123 facts, Eric is by far the most entertaining talk show host
@@taibeats5961 Eric is also a flaming anomaly and a satire of late night hosts so I’d approve of melon’s placement
Imagining the 3 doing a show together with these roles. Coulda been something.
I think as a proper interviewer, Carson, Letterman and Conan are the best. Ferguson is a master comedian that hijacks the interviews to make funny content. Different context imo.
I really don't like Fallon's comedy or really his show at all, but the one thing I appreciate about him is that he's truly a fan of music. I remember reading about how at SNL, he'd hang out with the musical guests all the time and ask them questions and was just intensely interested in what they did. Plus, he books musical guests on his show that he personally likes but don't necessarily make sense for his show's audience.
yes respect to him for getting his personal favourite indie artist Addison Rae on the show
i almost feel bad for him bc you can tell that when someone who he has genuine interest in comes on his show he's so much better but most of the time he seems to be suffering while pretending to care and laugh at everything the guests say.
@@sluggseulgi6828 he has almost no charisma and is too nice
@@qdominika7253 yeah that's what i mean basically, not every funny guy from snl should have a late night show because that requires a completely different set of skills. you can see his show is more about gimmicky segments than actually interesting interviews for this exact reason
Fallon is the only one that has realized there is a huge market for latino artists, and thus brings spanish singing acts. Meanwhile, everyone else only does english only, but do not remember that most latino artists need to sing in spanish because a lot of white americans are "allergic" to latino culture and appealing to Latin America and Spain can be more important. A lot of latino artists can absolutely sing in english but find a lot more success singing in spanish and following latino trends.
I’d add Graham Norton on the B class. He lets his guests talk, he’s fairly witty and I love when his guests interact with each other, Craig Ferguson is S tier.
Graham Norton is A tier at the very least, and probably an S tier imo. One of the funniest hosts, seems like a genuinely nice guy, and an incredible interviewer. He has some of the most iconic hilarious interviews out of any host
Norton is S tier.
Nobody has mentioned Graham Norton? That dude is S tier just for giving his guests booze.
Craig Ferguson is S tier. Incredibly rewatchable, unscripted, and hilarious. Miss him truly.
I’d say he was easily the funniest out of all of these.
@@dusterman360 you're right and you should say it
The only reason I clicked on this video was to see if Craig Ferguson was S tier, where he should be. He's insanely down to earth, insightful, charming, and even has a vulnerability about him. He's also the only one besides Conan that is actually funny. I rewatch episodes all the time on youtube. He, easily, had the best talk show.
So true. Great interviews and humor. And Geoff Peterson. I mean. Come on!
@@dusterman360 He's not even close to as funny as conan. Conan is an outright comedian.
Conan is the most criminally underrated talk show host, way better than both the Jimmy's combined
How is he underrated? He's like THE American talk show host that I've known since I was a kid but of course my exposure to them might be different since I live in Europe
@@Meemitalo_ no he gets outshined by the jimmys who are incredibly boring and lazy talk show hosts while Conan actually takes care of his employees and cares about them, when HBO dropped him he paid all his staff from his pockets, tell me if any other talk show host is better than him in any aspects and ill just laugh in your face
@@diamond_miner6917 ... conan never got dropped by hbo, that was nbc. he's currently developing a show with hbo. also john stewart literally went to congress in defense of 9/11 responders so laugh in my face i guess
@@sussvarman my bad
Conan isn't underrated. More like unexposed enough. Most younger audiences KNOW how good he is, but he was thrown in the big time at a time that wasn't helpful for him to catch viewers. He should have gotten Leno's spot back in the 90s and the younger audiences would have eventually made him a king. Instead his spot was given to that lame clown Jimmy Fallon. Nice guy, but overtly bland. The only 2 good things about him? Neil Young and The Roots.
This is US only but Graham's is probably my favorite. Maybe it's because he has multiple celebs on that you wouldn't expect to see together but not only does he let them speak, which is rare for some of the biggest shows nowadays, he also asks interesting questions and lets them interact with the others on the couch. Also very funny and he looks like a nice guy.
Graham Norton is the goat for me
I love his show but I wouldn’t rank him at the top because his main talent is being good at taking a back seat to his guests
Best show in the world right now
I've only seen him once due to my obsession with The Ricky Gervais Show when he had Ricky and Steve on it, and from what I watched he was pretty damn good
Conan is supreme; super funny, great remotes. He also was creepy in a genuinely funny way and didn't cross boundaries, whereas many of the other hosts were downright invasive and inappropriate. Ferguson, Letterman, Leno. All pretty gross in their own right in that sense.
I thought Ferguson did a good job of never quite crossing the line
The gag of completely skipping over any dialogue concerning Craig and just dropping him in B tier because Melon knows he's underrated is the kind of comedy Craig would appreciate
scanned thru the whole damn video for craig til i read this
and his fans... i mean, stoners
I don't think this is a gag I get what you're saying but it's not really funny at all I think this was an editing mistake
@@mrbig1022 Could be an editing mistake, but I'd lean towards it being tongue in cheek 🤷
Craig Ferguson is overrated.
Conan easily the best Talk Show Host, in my opinion. he is super funny, great personality and his guest respect him.
I agree, Conan is my favorite host ever
Conan for sure. Also liked Craig Ferguson, they're both humble and funny and actually let the guest speak without being a human laugh track. Conans back and forth with norm macdonald was great 👍
conan and craig ferguson were the best hosts imo, sad that their shows are over
@@redtheftauto bill burr on conan was always really good too
@@aaron4583 bill burr on conan was amazing
I think Seth Meyers is pretty good as well. Outstanding in his interview skills and how he adapted to the quarantine format back in 2020
Great to see Space Ghost getting a mention. Hilarious at times. The Bjork and Thom Yorke interviews, superb.
"Thom, isn't that interesting?" "..No." Superb indeed
Conan is the best modern era host hands down. Dude is genuinely hilarious and interacts with every guest the best
Plus, he’s the most wholesome behind the scene. He’s genuinely a nice guy.
Only actual good host
agreed I'll never understand why my mom doesn't like him. I think she just lumps him in with all the other shitty late night hosts
Tucker Carlson?
Yeah Conan is the best. My dad dated his sister and said Conan was always super down to earth and genuine
I would've put Ferguson higher. He's always felt underrated to me. Most talk shoe hosts only pretend to be goofy and self-deprecating. He really goes for it. Nice to see Space Ghost and Eric Andre getting some love.
I love Craig and appreciate him more the further we get from his last show.
Did this man just cut Craig out of the video?? Wth, Talkthony Showtano!
His interviews alone put him in at least A tier
what did he even say about Ferguson? Woulda loved to hear his opinion on him; I don't think his comedy always landed, but his show was groundbreaking for the genre in terms of coming off as authentic
Geoff Peterson is my Halloween Costume.
I've barely watched any of these hosts except Colbert, but I have mad respect for Conan for his work on The Simpsons. He wrote "Marge vs. the Monorail" after all, easily one of the greatest episodes of the series.
I think Craig Ferguson deserves to be in A or S category. Unlike others, he was extremely funny with his unique sense of humor with lots of innuendoes. He never felt the need of reading from any formalized questionaries (he used to tear them down in front of guests). It is really amazing what he was able to do with his german accent, a gay skeleton robot, a makeshift horse, 50 bucks, Michael, Beth, a snake cup and 2 glittery balls (no music band)! Imagine what he would have done with a high-fi budget set like Kimmel, Corden or Fallon.
The best Radiohead b-side ever, Idk why you need a tier list tho
Facts lmao i thought about the radiohead song before actual talk show hosts when i read the title of this video
That song is really great
I want to be someone else or ill explode
This is an amazing comment omg
Guess this video should be called Cuttooth Tier List then
Just want to share my love for Craig Ferguson. He’s an absolute class act, most of his stuff was improvised and absolutely hilarious. The guy had cussing hand puppets, a robot skeleton and a dancing horse that would show up out of the blue. Though his show was usually absolute silliness, it would at times take a serious thought provoking, and introspective turn. The monologue about Britney Spears’ public mental health struggles, sharing stories of his battle with alcoholism, the death of his mother and interviewing anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu, showed his range as an entertainer. He also wrote and performed his own theme song and used to drum in punk bands. Craig is just a fucking cool guy. Miss him in late-night, and wonder what his takes on this current messed up world would be. 😭❤️
Agreed. He was the only late night host that didn’t dog pile Brittney and I love him for that. Went to a couple of tapings of his show and it’s even funnier in person. So much audience interaction. He asked me a question during the taping and I almost died lol
Easily The GOAT
his eulogy to his dad is perfect and one of a kind
Yes. S-tier. The best.
He is a genius.
Conan just always felt really natural to me Very few times have I thought he's laughing at something just to laugh or just to have a reaction. The flow and general feel of his interviews just feels so natural and he always makes sure to accommodate his guests and make them comfortable as well. That type of charisma is just great to watch in action and it's just an added bonus he's a funny guy. Absolutely S tier.
When Dennis Miller finds out he’s not on this list he’s going to be madder than Daenerys Targaryen getting late-night tacos with Quasimodo and Zack Morris.
I'm happy you included Space Ghost.
Should have been s tier. I‘m giving Anthony an F tier because of this. Worse than mbdtf review.
Fuck yeah
scrolled down and thought it was a meme but he actually did. what a legend.
Are you getting enough oxygen?
Hell yea dude
Thanks for the deep and meaningful explanation to why Craig Ferguson got in the B tier.
For real. So weird he didn't explain it. I actually find it funny bc it's like he knew he was there, but he didn't talk about him, just like how people acted when he was on the air lmao. Btw, Craig should be in the S tier
I clicked this video to get some interesting insight from Fantano about Craig… now I gotta just watch for his review of Conan.
I know it was a list of American talk show hosts but it would've been amazing to see Graham Norton, he is funny and does his research, even if there is an author on the couch, he read the book and asks good questions. I saw once Jimmy Kimmel not knowing what the guest was playing in a series, he has one job.
Graham Norton is god-tier
Surprised you didn’t include Graham Norton
Maybe he's doing hosts in America, cause the Graham Norton Show is the best in the world. Also other UK programs are so fucking great, The Big Fat Quiz, 8 out of 10 cats, Would I lite to you, taskmaster, Qi XL...
To me the one reason that Conan soars above everyone is his integrity, he didn’t back down from nbc wanting to move the tonight show to 1 am to prop up leno’s new show and that says a lot about his character
fuck Leno for all that bullshit. Leno deserves F tier and Conan is S for me. Conan is the only host left who really interacts with his guests. and nobody else had a relationship with Norm MacDonald like Conan did. absolute legend
Conan continued to pay his staff after all that went down. That says a lot.
@JAY CHROM3 oh definitely, I wish he got the ride at universal and not Fallon
@@ThunderShadow98 Conan’s Remote would be a funny ride
@@deadeyehiki7317 Or it could be called "Conan's Desk Drive Ride"
Craig Ferguson is the greatest to ever do it. No one else could hold a conversation like him, partially because his show was completely unscripted. Who else would spend their entire interview with Harrison Ford talking about aviation, their interview with Vin Diesel talking about NY nightclubs, their interview with The Rock talking about country music or their interview with Peter Capaldi talking about LSD. I miss him so much, a true legend in my eyes.
Truly the best.
Could not agree more
Dick Cavett though
Agreed. I went to a couple of tapings of his show and it was even crazier in person. So much gold gets cut out in the editing room. Which says a lot because each episode was amazing.
Often a really funny opening monolog, too, which was/is rare.
I’ve always seen your videos recommended but I decided why not, let me check it out, with your Control System (Ab-Soul) review. I watched that in the middle of September, I loved that video, it was eerie how well you nailed what I thought Saw a few other videos I really liked, you talking about bars. Then I just happened to have joined right before Drake hit you up I really enjoyed going on that ride with you rather than hearing about it, then checking out your videos. But this. @7:17 with the Cost to Cost host. I haven’t even heard where you put it, but after saying “you gotta put Jimmy in D” after hearing you bring up the Roots, and the you put him in D! Haha this tagged moment tho. I’m the audience member looking for that. 110% Damnit, I’m a fan. Great videos man, I appreciate the earnestness of this channel
Conan is the GOAT. His style of comedy is just amazing and he never fails to make me cry from laughter
Not even close. There's a reason Johnny Carson is the king of late night television.
Am I missing something or did he never actually rate Craig Ferguson?
YEAH I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS!~ lol
He did; he's in the B Tier, but the video seemed to skip a bit.
It's weird because he seems to pop up under the B column about halfway through Space Ghost's rating but never discussed
Craig Ferguson is A or S tier!!
THANK YOU! Thought I was losing my damn mind.
Graham Norton actually asks good questions and even made Harrison Ford open up. He’s the GOAT.
I agree, Graham Norton has the best interviewing skills on television.
Norton is the best by far
Give guest booze... Ask questions
Yeah Norton is automatically S tier and arguably the best ever. A lot of these guys are much funnier than him when it comes to pure monologue or skit comedy, but his ability to stay in the background while steering the conversation to fun places is just unparalleled. His show is by far the most entertaining
Graham Norton doesn’t get people to open up. The on set bartender gets people to open up. Still love the show
Craig Ferguson just appeared on the list. No discussion? I think Craig belongs in the A or even S tier. He was very original and had a robot sidekick. In his words: "Initially, I wanted something which represented some kind of deconstructionist contempt for the late-night genre and the idea of a sidekick." Haha! And I agree - Conan is a master at his craft. Without a doubt, he belongs in the S tier. But, a lot of his best work (such as his remotes) can trace their roots back to Letterman's show. So, in a way, Letterman paved the way for Conan.
4:42 The thing about Sullivan is that he wasn't an MC by trade and was a pretty stiff dude in general but he was a talent scout par excellence and that was made clear in his program.
Eric Andre literally changed my life. His show and his persona inspired me so much and helped me feel more confident and independent
Bird up
cheers i'll drink to that
Let's give a quick shout out to Christina Applegate
@@rajatgupta000 YEAH
Hannibal inspired me. To be gay
That was the kindest James Corden review I've ever heard
Why do people hate him lol
@@Anthonycheesman33 apparently between commercials breaks he straight up ignores his audience while most late night hosts talk to them. He also is just very rude to people you can find stories on his Reddit ama that went to shit lmao
Honestly
love that conan is getting the recognition he deserves here. he’s so damn intelligent and effortlessly funny.
Bless you for putting Space Ghost : Coast to Coast, at least, at A. SGCTC premiered when I was young and I watched it because my Dad thought it was hilarious...and it really molded my sense of humor. Love it.
Nice one. I agree with the majority. I guess I enjoy Fallon's guests playing stupid games and having a good time, although his interviews are awful. But Fantano is skipping commenting about Ferguson's excellent timing and self confidence, and the GOAT in my opinion, the excellent Dick Cavett. His interviews with George Harrison, Muhammad Ali, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Orson Wells, John Lennon, Brando, etc, were amazing.
What about his embarassing interview with Eddie Murphy? No way is that man the GOAT of anything.
@@Nefariousbig I can’t care less about that episode. Letterman and Conan have been total creeps several times and Johnny Carson has interviews boring af. Nobody’s perfect.
@@Nefariousbig go into detail about how that individual interview makes him not the goat. Michael Jordan and/or LeBron James didn't go undefeated for each and every game they ever played so....by your lack of logic they aren't the goats right?
@@sentientmlem727 imagine comparing saying the n word to Eddie Murphy's face several times on national television to having a few off games in the NBA lmao
@@carl_anderson9315 Agree about Letterman but when has Conan been a creep?
Not sure I’m comfortable with you including Rush Limbaugh here, especially in S tier but I guess it’s just your opinion after all
Altthany Righttano
always knew he was a skinhead
As a Brit, I would just like to take this opportunity to apologise for James Corden.
Letterman's at Fallon's level? What?!? At least Dave was groundbreaking in a lot of ways and had original ideas. B level at the very least. Underrated af. Thanks AF.
Conan is such a genuinely funny person and I feel like we haven’t come to grips with that as a society until recently. His love and respect for comedy as an art shines through in everything he does, he’s truly a student of comedy. He’s so funny and quirky that it almost feels fake until you realize that that really is just who he is as a person and he doesn’t know how to turn it off bc he can’t lol. I always loved his shows but his podcast made me a super fan, it’s just unreasonably funny.
we haven't come to grips with that as a society? interesting phrasing over whether or not some random guy is funny lol
Not a good interviewer tho
@@golddmane it’s just dramatic language to prove a point lol but it’s kind of true. Bad ratings are mostly to blame for why he doesn’t have a late night show anymore-people just weren’t watching. All I heard for years was how people didn’t like Conan, but after his show stopped this year was the first time I started hearing people talk about how much they’ll miss him and how great and respected he is-fans and celebrities alike didn’t seem to give him his flowers until recently. But such is life.
@@HadirUntukAnda I don’t find many late night hosts to be great interviewers though, to be fair lol they are usually just trying to be funny which keeps them from actually engaging in quality conversation. In recent years, there have been many moments during Conan’s podcast that I felt were actually really good and informative, much more than his late night show-in part because the late night show has to be quick and chopped up in small bits to fit on tv whereas the podcast allows him to engage in long term conversation/shenanigans with his guests. At the very least I do find him to be pretty good at bringing humor out of his guests. I genuinely think his podcast is making him better, it’s really the perfect format for him.
Conan was always great with comedians. He would just let them run. Some of the best Bill Burr and Norm MacDonald bits were on his show.
Glorious ending. I’m curious where Seth Meyers would be especially the whole stint he had without an audience made him more realized.
Ive always liked Seth Meyers a lot. Good interviewer and always seems like a really genuine guy
seth also has a better finger on the pulse of america's problems and his cornyness actually makes him kinda endearing
Yeah, missed him on this list as well, I´d put him at least at B level.
Really surprised to see Anthony like Colbert and not mention Seth Meyers. For me, he is the only one of the political ones who speaks to what young people are interested in.
And Corrections is absolutely sick. Just Seth riffing for 20 minutes.
Jimmy Kimmel got some brownie points for having Ghost as a musical guest last year
I LOVE that you shouted out the Jacksons as a highlight in the history of musical guest appearances on talk shows throughout the years. They never once missed
Wait how come no Dick Cavett? Probably the only talk show host that had meaningful discussions with his guests. Marlin Brando, Robbin Williams, Muhammad Ali, and so many more had their absolute best interviews on his show. He was also funny af
Around 3:25 it says in writing that he forgot but that he is s tier
Totally agree, I recommend his interview with Miles Davis, one of the rare people who made Miles feel comfortable speaking on TV
Probably hanging out with Mike Douglas at a bar somewhere.
His interviews with Hendrix, Lennon, George harrison and Bowie are massive moments in music history
man dont forget about orson welles. even if you dont give a single remote shit about movies, that is an amazingly genuine interview.
I love that Melon is further exploring creating videos outside of the typical music discussion videos that he's known for
He's on a very precarious trajectory to full blown influencer
oh i thought he was just running out of ideas
For me Letterman is an S, his classic remotes and segments are perfect for my sense of humor and I still loved the majority of his CBS days, until 2013. The change in writers dropped the show to a D for me. But I still love Dave's comedy and persona
Wasn’t he only on for like 2 years after that though?
Craig was incredible because of his witt but also because he even played with the format itself.
hoping to see Lilly Singh on S tier, definitely the most groundbreaking talk show host of our generation
Absolutely, nothing less
Love Troll comments, they funny 😆
@@the6ig6adwolf troll? He’s being serious. We all are.
@@junjiito6298 dead serious
idk if you know this, but apparently she's a brown bisexual woman. i always thought that she was a straight white man!
James Corden is actually known to have advocated for talk show writers to get paid less. Ironic considering the only (and I am really grasping for straws here) 'shred' of content Corden produces is largely a product of his writers.
they should get paid less because the show is not funny and uncreative XD
@@Marcelg13 I'd guess that he thinks his writers are useless because of his ego. Also it's not easy to get a job for a late night show host, but even the best writers would wince as James Corden butchers the delivery of every joke.
I actually liked corden’s monologues without an audience (obviously I wouldn’t dare watch a movie with him in it). The best parts were usually super off script, usually with corden talking about how much of a walking meme he is. That being said, it disappoints me to hear you say that he advocated for his writers to be paid less, but I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised...
In the same way that you and others have noted Jimmy Fallon’s drive to feature a decent array of quality performances on his show I’d like to call out Conan and Letterman for also not being strangers to slightly more fringe acts, and appreciating a wide array of musical talent. Dillinger escape plan on Conan, Mars Volta on Letterman just to rattle off two quick ones
ALL respect was lost when you put Trevor Noah above Letterman… in what universe is Noah above Letterman? F tier comedic taste from Fantano.
Dick cavett definitely should have been talked about in this video. The dude is S teir as you mentioned, but it really cannot be understated how he often would platform leftist ideas in a way no other show would at the time. Not only that, but the way he would actually let his guests speak at length about intellectual topics was way ahead of his time.
legit, dick cavett is s tier
But he was a daytime host. If memory serves. Or we'd also have to add Mike . Um.. Can't think of his name, was on the air for decades. MIKE DOUGLAS. Oh! Donahue. ...OK, now I'm in day time rabbit hole. Cheers!
Cavett is definitely S tier, and Fantano's snub was pretty bizarre. No other talk show host was able to spark such intense conversations. He also seems like a genuinely good person. He did an amazing interview (as a guest) a few years back on the podcast "The Hilarious World of Depression" that made me love the guy even more than I already did, and I highly recommend checking it out. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go watch old Cavett Show clips until the sun comes up.
I don’t think it was ahead of his time, because nobody does that anymore lol. He’s such a legend.
@@paraworldblue Why did he use the n word in his interview with Eddie Murphy?
Craig Fergusson deserves to be in that S tier with Conan. So close fantano.
Yeah he skipped the bit too, did him dirty as hell
Ferguson is good but him winging every interview - which was the appeal - can only go so far.
A lot further than scripted disingenuous shows
@@garretthughes7763 I thought I was missing the part at first but yeah it looks like it’s just not there
@@garretthughes7763 To be honest, I can understand him being B. He is a genius at what he does, but what he does is too niche. On the other hand, putting Letterman and Leno so low is bullshit. Leno is a piece of shit, but he was a solid interviewer and comedian. Bland style, yeah, but solid. Definitely worthy of B or C at WORST. And there is no way in hell Letterman should be below A. He is among the best interviewers and always had solid content. You can actually see a lot of his influence on Conan.
Graham Norton should have been on this list and had his own tier at the top
Craig Ferguson and Graham Norton, the true S tiers
Craig is best. The pure comedic talent this man has is beyond late night. Pity you skipped talking about him.
No respect! To that I say "BAAAAAALLLS"
@@timhough Try English mate .
@@timhough I beg you Adieu!
facts!
Craig is S Tier for sure. Maybe even Hidden Valley Ranch Tier.
You really should've taken a page out of Critikal's book and gave James Corden a tier all to himself at the very bottom of the list
preach brother. that man is insufferable. I am forever scarred after seeing him twerk-attack innocent citizens in a mouse costume to promote what just may be the shittiest Cinderella adaptation so far. my god
@@anthonyhenriques7654 its a dirty job but someone has to do it
@@anthonyhenriques7654 Don't forget he was in Cats!
@@CoolioCaptain oh dear Lord please can't you just let me forget? lmao
God even seeing that dopes name ("critical") gives me douchechills. Please don't do that again.
No one gonna mention how Craig Ferguson just materialised in the B tier without being addressed?
I don't know man, putting Letterman in the D column but Noah in the C column? Something's not right.
Let's be real if this was expanded beyond just American talk shows then Graham Norton would 100% be S-Tier.
👆👆 this right here. Takes the format and makes it unique from all the other shows like the ones in this vids too.
agreed. Graham Norton's relaxed vibe should be more popular. fuck this fake Jimmy Fallon shit it's so tired.
His celebrity lineups are always immaculate lol people you wouldn’t expect to see together on the same couch, but it always turns out to be a fun conversation
As a MASSIVE Craig Ferguson fan I appreciate the joke of him just appearing at the B column but I'm NOT gonna say I didn't feel blue balled.
Can you explain the joke? I’m lost
@@shawnmckeon8936 we're kinda late but i'd like an explanation too
@@leandrodamian707 same
@@shawnmckeon8936 Nothing more in depth than that the show is/was underrated/overlooked. To those who did not watch the show - it was a running joke in the TLLS that their budget and ratings were so low that even the CBS execs barely knew the show existed. That and the timeslot being so late made it so they often got away with skirting the line of appropriate network tv comedy and the format.
Craig literally has a compilation of him flirting with al actresses and them flirting back and robin williams duos....the only man who could keep up with him comedy wise....that and he was completely non scripted - S tier, easily. Dude knew how to talk to women and legendary comics, he also had an interview with Desmond Tutu and Cornell West....bruh.
would've loved to see Zac Galifinakis for Between Two Ferns, also wondering why Craig Ferguson was wordlessly put into B, he's personally probably my favorite
Learning that colberts true persona was super stale and uninteresting was one of the biggest shocks I’ve ever been inflicted by, because the Colbert report was my favorite show growing up, and he was almost like a hero to me (I even had his book).
Same. I had his book as well and watched his show every day. I still like him overall, mostly because I’m also obsessed with Tolkien. But I don’t think he’s the guy we all thought he was. Glad to see he’s moved a little farther left since the pandemic, but it sucks that that’s what it took.
@@HotStrange Don't totally blame the person. It's a completely different show & format. He has bosses just like the rest of us, and his audience now is very different (and much broader) than it was at the Report.
@@HotStrange how far left do you want him to be
@ghost mall his Bill Burr interview is one of the most awkward and unfunny moments in Late Night to me. Colbert can’t handle anybody even the slightest bit edgy.
7:14 Did anyone else notice that Craig Ferguson just suddenly appeared in the B tier at this point?
Dick Cavett conducted some of the most interesting and historic interviews of all time. He belongs up there in S or A.
Conan felt like Jerma a lot to me at least, he's always goofy, often acted like a psychopath, has basically his own universe and characters, and basically everybody loves him
Thank you for clarifying that my man, THE Dick Cavett, is GOATed and S tier. His show is the only one where you get intellectuals, musicians, governors, senators, house representatives, actors, comedians, and so on all talking and debating at length for over an hour, sometimes two. Not only that, but Dick will deliver difficult questions with just enough subtlety and panache for them to go down smooth. He was a real down to earth guy. His interview with Richard Pryor where he reveals he was molested as a child was a real heart to heart moment between two incredibly talented and kind men. I love Dick Cavett and more people should know his talent.
Dick Cavett is seriously one of the best interviewers I've ever watched. He could interview a ham sandwich and make it must-watch.
Not only that, he lets his guests finish unlike jimmy
100%. Some of the greatest filmmakers of all time were on that show.
I found his show to be exemplary for the values we should seek to emulate as a society, for the reasons you laid out. A role model and a teacher, in a way.
Non-American here. I guess, culturally, from an outsider's perspective looking in on American Late Night, I'm really taken aback by Dave's positioning. Kind of had the impression that many considered Carson -> Letterman -> O'Brien as some kind of natural late-night 'heir to the throne' type lineage of GOATs. But who cares. Conan is where he needs to be and, frankly, little else matters. (Man, I did like Craig Ferguson though!)
he completely missed on Letterman. Him and Ferguson are the goats. I do personally think Carson is overrated because he paved the way for everyone but also I see that theres value in that.
@@michaelhupal9161 Interesting! Yes, this is closer to the view I would have expected going into this. To each their own, I guess!
He knocked Letterman down for how he treated women - the full extent of it isn’t known but he had sex with a lot of his female employees and presumably there’s some pressure there. Without that scandal he’s A-S tier easy. And also with Letterman we found out about it and we don’t know if maybe the other guys (especially the older ones) did similar stuff.
@@fenzelian Ah, okay, if that's the case, that makes a lot of sense and I understand the decision there
There is massive political bias in this list.
Craig is just S+. The only host to be able to keep up with Robin Williams and even make Robin laugh hysterically.
Colbert not being in D or F and (since joining The Late show) and Oliver not being in S or A is giga cringe
I agree Colbert is an easy F but I don't think Oliver is that good. He's funny but like he said very monotonous. I've enjoyed him over the years by not watching his stuff too often.
I can’t help but feel like Seth Meyers was overlooked. Some of the best writing in late night and it feels like he is really respected by other comedians, especially from the SNL circle.
Seth Meyers is the worst I’ve ever seen I’m not kidding
John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers are the only late show hosts that I find consistently entertaining.
No. Just no. His politics I mostly like, but his jokes, delivery and format... Nah. Actually liked his stand up better.
Also Meyers loves incorporating his writers and crew into in camera stuff to give then recognition. You can tell they all love each other
Seth Meyers is reminiscent of Colbert. Great in his first job (Weekend Update). Then he got the big job and just gave in to being a puppet comedian for liberal politics. i.e “gah trump sucks huh” *cue laugh track* Don’t come at me for politics, I don’t really care for any of it, but forced political humor is awful and once 2016 hit, Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert, Meyers, and others just stopped being an escape from the day and became more bullshit to deal with imo.
You know i was about to cancel you for not including Eric Andre but then you threw him in the last minute and made a killer punchline. Thank you Melonthony.
You were about to…..cancel….him? Is this serious?
@@joelissamancrye2799 clearly a joke.
@@HotStrange you sure?
@@joelissamancrye2799 No, he was serious
@@user-qo4ym5ew8t your name isnt even american font
He didn't talk about Craig Ferguson. He just showed up on the list. 🤗🤗
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is definitely C-B tier but the Colbert Report was S tier all day
Conan sealed the deal as best modern host during the writer's strike back in the day, when he had no material to work with other than what he could come up with by himself every night. And it was strangely, and counter-intuitively some of the best TV I ever watched.
Wtf is Seth Meyers? Seriously under rated and has one of the best writing rooms in the business.
Was coming here to say that.
🧢
not to mention best adaptation to remote filming and a really interesting self-aware tone around having a staff and being a show. closer look is a fantastic segment, corrections is borderline surreal, and day drinking is simply a joy. as far as the big boys go, meyers is the most adventurous and thoughtful by a mile, even if outside the traditional humor of the position. i think there’s a lineage of hosts’ hosts from carson to letterman to conan, but meyers is the only post-modernist of the lot
I made a similar comment myself but I had to scroll WAY too far to see anybody so much is even mentioned Seth and I think that's just sad... like another commenter said above me, he is one of the best shows and writing rooms in the business. his Closer Look segment alone is worth the view not to mention Back In My Day, Day Drinking, and my personal fav, Corrections. his political commentary is rivaled by few and he makes great points while giving straight reports on recent American politics... I honestly don't watch any other late night shows anymore. I was watching Colbert for a while until he got his audience back since then I've only watched Seth I'm pretty amazed he didn't get mentioned by Fantano and anyone in the comments. he deserves S Tier right next to Conan
Seth Meyers is someone who seems very middle-of-the-road to me. And I do not think he is funny.
So happy to Hear you about connan. Such a great guy. The chemistry with the guests is unique. That’s why he keep friendship with a lot of people after the show is over
John Oliver in the B category!?!!!???? What! He deserves to be above all the rest!
I just came for Conan and I’m glad he got that rank because no other talk shows has genuinely made me die of laughter like his 😂
I wish talk shows would go back to the Dick Cavett format instead of just trying to do cutesy skits and quick movie promos. There are, like, videos of Dick van Dyke talking about alcoholism with him for like 20 minutes. Or Orson Welles claiming to have met Hitler before he became well-known and that he had no personality lol. It’s just more interesting that they’d have an actual conversation.
Why did Ferguson just appear on the list after talking about Space Ghost? IMHO he's definitely a GOAT and at least deserved to be talked about!!
Colbert on birdman and strangers with candy was peak