Joan Rivers became the first permanent female host of a late-night network talk show with Fox’s The Late Show.
The program premiered in 1986 as Fox’s entry into late-night television, with Rivers serving as its host. She had already built a major comedy career through stand-up, television appearances and writing, including work connected with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Rivers’s appointment was historically significant because women had appeared as guests, substitutes and occasional hosts, but no woman had previously held a permanent hosting position on a nationally distributed late-night network talk show. The show also featured a young Arsenio Hall as announcer and sidekick.
The Late Show struggled against established competitors and changed formats during its run. Rivers left the program in 1987. This series is separate from CBS’s later Late Show, which premiered in 1993 with David Letterman.