Kimmel, Fallon, Jon Stewart & More Make Changes for Midterm Elections Night

The hosts of late-night television won’t be reacting live to the results of the upcoming midterm elections, with none of the nightly shows scheduled for live episodes on Tuesday (November 3).

According to LateNighter, the likes of Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon won’t air live episodes as the midterm results come in, ending a 24-year streak dating back to 2002 and Stewart’s live episode of The Daily Show covering that year’s results.

NBC won’t be airing The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or Late Night With Seth Meyers on November 3, instead preempting them with live news coverage of the midterm results. CBS will be doing the same, meaning no episodes of Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed.

ABC will air a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in its usual 11:35 p.m. time slot, but it will not air live. The show is expected to tape later than usual, per LateNighter, so that Kimmel can react to some of the early East Coast results. However, ABC may cut away from the broadcast for breaking news coverage.

Network sources told the outlet that if results that determine control of the House or Senate come in during Kimmel’s show, the program may be interrupted for live ABC News reaction.

Comedy Central will also be airing a new episode of The Daily Show on Tuesday night, but it is expected to be taped before the polls close in New York.

While live late-night reaction to midterm results has been a staple for over two decades, the amount of coverage has dwindled in recent years. In November 2018, Trevor Noah‘s Daily Show, CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night all covered the first midterm election of Donald Trump‘s presidency.

That number dropped in 2022, when only Colbert and Kimmel broadcast live shows on election night. For 2026, that number has now dropped to zero, with no late-night show scheduled to broadcast live reaction.