Buoyed by a big Friday episode and a ton of Tom Hanks, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” just had its most-watched week since this iteration of the series premiered in September 2015.
Last week’s average of 3.38 million total viewers per night is up 22 percent from the same week last year. It marked the ninth week this season that Stephen Colbert has hauled in more than 3 million overall audience members, on average.
The CBS late-night series particularly enjoyed its biggest Friday ever, with 3.65 million viewers tuning in to catch guests Hanks — who also dropped by on Tuesday — and Jodie Foster. Having some “Star Wars” stuff with on Thursday probably didn’t hurt either.
Here is last week’s full lineup:
Monday, December 11: Matt Damon; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; musical performance by Juanes
Tuesday, December 12: Tom Hanks; Katy Tur; Mac DeMarco sitting in with Jon Batiste and Stay Human
Wednesday, December 13: Nick Jonas; Dennis Rodman; musical performance by Jeezy featuring Tory Lanez
Thursday, December 14: Adam Driver; Comedian John Early; musical performance by Jon Batiste
Friday, December 15: Jodie Foster; Tom Hanks in a box; Run The Jewels
Season-to-date, “The Late Show” is up 26 percent in total viewers. The competition to Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel is up 4 percent among adults 18-49.