Overview
- The change was reported Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, with media trackers and network sources saying no major late-night program is scheduled to broadcast live as midterm results come in.
- NBC and CBS will preempt their late-night lineups to run live election news coverage instead of airing their usual entertainment programs.
- ABC plans to air a new Jimmy Kimmel episode that will be taped later than usual to capture some East Coast returns and may be cut for live ABC News coverage if decisive results arrive.
- Comedy Central is expected to air a new episode of The Daily Show that will be taped before New York polls close, making live reaction to late results unlikely.
- The move ends a practice that began when Jon Stewart took The Daily Show live in 2002 and reflects a steady decline in live late-night election participation from many shows in 2018 to none scheduled in 2026, a shift that will reduce immediate satirical response and concentrate resources on conventional news coverage.