Shows Like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Ranked by shared creators, cast, themes, genre, and network — not just generic recommendations.
Late Show with David Letterman
Carson's protégé; same NBC late-night lineage, monologue+desk+band format, direct spiritual successor
The Dick Cavett Show
Direct Carson contemporary and network competitor; same era, same late-night interview-driven talk format
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Same franchise, same NBC timeslot, same Tonight Show brand — direct continuation of Carson's program
The Merv Griffin Show
Carson's closest direct contemporary; same network era late-night celebrity interview format and audience
The Mike Douglas Show
Exact era peer; celebrity guest/interview/variety talk formula with heavily overlapping Carson audience
The Ed Sullivan Show
Same broadcast era, mainstream American variety-talk, celebrity guests, shared audience with Carson's NBC years
Conan
Classic late-night monologue+desk+band format; O'Brien is a direct NBC/Carson-lineage successor host
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman
Letterman returning to intimate celebrity interviews; same conversational depth as Carson's best guest segments
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Same CBS Late Show slot and network-late-night format; monologue, desk, celebrity guests, live weeknights
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
NBC late-night direct successor show; same network, post-Carson era lineage, monologue+desk format
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Current NBC 12:35 late-night; same Tonight Show franchise network, desk+monologue+celebrity guest format
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
CBS late-night desk show; freewheeling conversational style widely compared to Carson's unrehearsed charm
Comedy Central Presents
Stand-up showcase; shares Carson's tradition of launching comedians, overlapping comedy-fan audience
Comedy Bang! Bang!
Playful late-night format parody; shares talk-show structure and comedy sensibility, skews younger/surreal
Real Time with Bill Maher
Late-night weekly talk with celebrity/political guests; adult audience overlap but panel-debate tone differs
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Late-night comedy-talk; shares format shell but leans heavily political-satirical rather than entertainment
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Celebrity guest interviews and music; daytime talk cousin, lighter tone, different timeslot audience
QI
British panel show with celebrity wit and banter; tonal cousin via celebrity guests but quiz-driven format
Talking Dead
Shares the desk-and-guests talk structure but is a niche franchise aftershow, not mainstream entertainment
The Rachel Maddow Show
Desk-and-monologue format has surface similarity; tonal cousin only — news opinion, not entertainment talk
How Good Is The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson?
Ratings across IMDb and TMDB, plus our verdict.
Where to Watch The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Streaming, rental, and purchase options across 40+ countries.
United States
USStream
3
fuboTV
Peacock Premium
Peacock Premium PlusFree with Ads
2
The Roku Channel
Pluto TVAvailable in 1 country