The 41st season of "Saturday Night Live" is in full swing. It kicked off a month ago with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus and a visit from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and the upcoming November 7 show will feature the ever combative and colorful Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. 

The sketch-comedy show has been a pop-culture fixture since creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels started it in 1975, satirizing everything from politics to religion and hosting everyone from pop stars to presidents. But perhaps more significantly, it's served as a school of comedy that has launched the careers of many of the biggest names in entertainment.

From Adam Sandler and Mike Meyers to Amy Poehler and Jimmy Fallon, we've rounded up a list of the former cast members who've flourished the most outside of the show that made them famous. 

Our list includes living SNL alumni who've achieved significant commercial success in Hollywood, whether in film, television, or both. We excluded any cast members who were on the show for one season or less (looking at you, Chevy Chase and Robert Downey Jr.) and didn't include any cast members currently on the show. 

Here are the 24 most successful SNL alumni (ordered from newest to oldest), what they did on the show, and what they're up to now:

SEE ALSO: The 25 funniest SNL cast members of all time, ranked

SEE ALSO: Here's the grueling and intense process it takes to put together one episode of "Saturday Night Live"

Seth Meyers

Years on SNL: 2001-2014

Seth Meyers was a fixture behind the scenes at SNL, where he was a writing supervisor and cohead writer with fellow cast member Tina Fey, who later credited him with writing her viral Sarah Palin impressions. Meyers has been nominated nine times for Emmy Awards for his work as a writer on SNL. He was also the longest-running coanchor of Weekend Update, where he wittily criticized issues in politics and news for eight years.

Upon leaving SNL in 2014, Meyers succeeded Jimmy Fallon as host of NBC's "Late Night," welcoming fellow SNL Weekend Update coanchor Amy Poehler as his first guest.

Bill Hader

Years on SNL: 2005-2013

Hader gained fame for his portfolio of impressions, including Al Pacino, Keith Morrison, and James Carville. But his most popular and beloved recurring role was Stefon, Weekend Update's flamboyant New York City correspondent. He also starred in the hit sketch, The Californians.

During his tenure at SNL, Hader had supporting roles in several hit comedies like "Superbad," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and "Tropic Thunder." Since leaving SNL for Hollywood, he's starred alongside Amy Schumer in the box-office hit "Trainwreck," lent his voice to Pixar's "Inside Out," and acted in "The To Do List," an indie comedy his wife wrote and directed. 

Jason Sudeikis

Years on SNL: 2005-2013

Jason Sudeikis started as a writer on SNL in 2003, and within two years he became a featured cast member. He excelled at impressions of politicians Mitt Romney and Joe Biden as well as a handful of personalities that appeared in a popular sketch with Kristen Wiig called Two A-Holes.

During his tenure on SNL, Sudeikis starred in hit comedies "The Campaign," "Hall Pass," "The Bounty Hunter," "We're the Millers," and both "Horrible Bosses" films. From 2009 to 2013, he voiced a lead character in "Family Guy" spinoff "The Cleveland Show," and he also had a dozen-episode guest role on Tina Fey's "30 Rock."

Sudeikis has several movies in the works, including a comedy called "Masterminds" costarring Wiig.

Good ol' Charlie Brown is turning 65 this year, and his legacy is still going strong, with a new "Peanuts" film out this weekend.

Charles M. Schulz created the comic strip in 1950 and continued producing the daily strips until shortly before his death in February 2000. "Peanuts" was first published in only seven newspapers, but it quickly became a global phenomenon. The comic is now published in 2,600 countries and has more than 700 licensing agreements spread across the globe. 

Charlie Brown's bad luck and misadventures have been documented in animated series since 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and today's release of "The Peanuts Movie" marks the first such film in 35 years.

Charlie Brown and co. were owned by the E.W. Scripps Company's United Feature Syndicate until the Iconix Brand Group purchased the brand for $175 million in 2010. Throughout the years, "Peanuts'" annual revenue has ranged from $80 million to upward of $1 billion. 

Here's a look back at where the "Peanuts" legacy started and how far it's come. 

All adjusted rates calculated via the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best and worst James Bond movies in the franchise's 53-year history

1950: The E.W. Scripps Company published "Peanuts" for the first time.

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That same year, seven newspapers bought the cartoon, and Charles Schulz, the comic's creator, earned $90 a week in royalties, about $889 adjusted for inflation.

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1953: Schulz, who created all of the comic strips himself, was earning $30,000 a year, about $267,354 today.

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Thanks to its many health benefits, matcha tea is a trendy new coffee alternative.

Matcha is essentially a finely ground powder made from green tea leaves, and one serving of matcha tea has the nutritional equivalent of 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea, as well as 137 times more antioxidants.

Despite specialty cafés selling the brew popping up all over the country, it's not hard to make the vibrant green drink yourself.

Here's what to do:

1. Warm up a mug.

2. Add 2 ounces of condensed milk to a scoop of matcha powder.

3. Steam the milk.

4. Pour the milk into the matcha mix.

5. Enjoy!

Story by Aly Weisman and editing by Jeremy Dreyfuss

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In "Spectre," James Bond's 24th adventure, the car driven by the villain is getting as much attention as, if not more than, 007's iconic Aston Martin (a DB10, this time around). In the film, a villainous henchman, called "Mr. Hinx," driving an orange Jaguar C-X75, engages in a high-speed chase with Bond's bespoke Aston through the streets of Rome.

Although Bond's Q-prepared Aston Martin is an absolute work of art, one can't help but be impressed by the sexy, or possibly terrifying, Jaguar.

"The C-X75 programme represents the pinnacle of Jaguar's engineering and design expertise," Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark said in a statement. "It is arguably the world's fastest test-bed for the world's most advanced technologies, combining as it does a remarkable hybrid powertrain with awe-inspiring performance."

For most people, the Jaguar C-X75 is a stunning movie prop. But the reality is that the car has lived a short, but eventful, life filled with stunning achievement and untapped potential.

Here's a closer look at the sleek super car.

"Spectre" is playing in US theaters now. 

SEE ALSO: Check out James Bond's greatest cars

Last year, Jaguar rolled out its "Good to be Bad" advertising campaign with a glorious Super Bowl Commercial.

But with the latest Bond flick, Jag has taken it to another level.

Not only is Jaguar providing the main villain car — its Land Rover sister brand will provide a Defender and Range Rover Sport SVR for evil transportation, as well.

George R.R. Martin revealed that his television career was derailed by a failed show about two decades before HBO's "Game of Thrones" would become a TV hit.

While accepting an award Wednesday for his contribution to the field of TV at his alma mater Northwestern University, according to Vulture, Martin discussed the unfolding of his career. He had previously written for TV shows like "The Twilight Zone" and 1987's "Beauty and the Beast," and worked his way up through the ranks to the point where creating his own show was the next step.

Martin created a show called "Doorways," in which a woman from a parallel world enters present day earth through the "door" and befriends a doctor, who she takes on a life-threatening chase in a different universe. ABC produced the pilot in 1992 and ordered six additional episode scripts.

"I hired six writers," Martin recalled. "And we spent half a year developing and polishing and getting ready to shoot the first six episodes when we got the green light. But we never did."

ABC passed on "Doorways." Its chance of being picked up by another network was dashed about a year later when a similar time-jumping show called "Sliders" premiered on Fox and went on for five seasons.

"When 'Doorways' failed to go, and all the other shows I had been developing didn't get to the pilot stage, people suddenly stopped returning my calls," the 67-year-old writer said. "You get a certain amount of strikes out there in Hollywood. You're as successful as your last project, so that was kind of a bitter disappointment for me."

In 1991, Martin turned to writing the "A Song of Fire and Ice" novels, which would become the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones" in 2011. He now serves as an executive producer and writer on the series. Looking back, Martin can see the bright side of the failure of "Doorways," which would've been difficult to make on the budget ABC had planned for it.

"I would have produced an ambitious but severely crippled television show that might not have been the show I really wanted it to be," he said. "And, failing that, I wrote this 'Game of Thrones' thing, and that worked out pretty well."

SEE ALSO: This favorite 'Game of Thrones' couple reunited for a very touching photo

MORE: 'Game of Thrones' author George R.R. Martin hints at how he'll end the series

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NOW WATCH: How the 'Game of Thrones' cast reacted when a Comic Con audience member shouted about Jon Snow

It takes a lot to pull off a brand new, live 90 minutes of television every week.

When you work for "Saturday Night Live," your work schedule tends to be kind of crazy.

The "Saturday Night Live" schedule has been in place for 40 years, and while a weekly live sketch show can be hit-or-miss, this routine has produced some comedy gold. 

This week, the show has caused a lot of controversy. Donald Trump is scheduled to host this Saturday, with many protesting and calling for him to be dropped as host.

A "Saturday Night Live" Exhibition, fittingly in New York City, celebrates the hard work that goes into creating the live comedy institution. It includes costumes, photos, and even recreations of sets made by the same people who designed the originals.

The exhibit is broken up day by day, to give a precise feeling of what exactly happens each day throughout the six-day "SNL" work week.

Using artifacts from the exhibit, here is a breakdown of a week at "Saturday Night Live."

On Monday, writers and cast members meet to pitch jokes and toss around story ideas.

Writers and cast members meet to begin pitching jokes and sketch ideas. Meanwhile, SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels, the writers and cast meet with hosts and figure out their abilities. Michaels and the show's head writers then decide which of these ideas are best, and which play to the host's strengths.  

Tuesday is a writing day.

Writers will usually pull all-nighters to get sketches done. When the show first began, writing sessions were notoriously mixed with heavy drug use. Today, that is not a factor. 

Wednesday is when everybody gathers around to read through sketches.

Every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m., everyone from the host to writers to cast members to production assistants gather in the writer's room to read the week's possible sketches. Actors read through parts while "[music director Eli] Brueggeman sits at a keyboard in the corner to accompany the sketches with music," according to the exhibit.

According to the museum, the meeting doesn't end until every single sketch is read. Typically, the meeting is "roughly" three hours long. 

Trump vetoed many of this week's sketches, claiming that they were too "risqué."

On Thursday, sets start getting built.

At 6 a.m., construction of the sets for the week's show begins in Stiegelbauer shop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  

Back in Manhattan, cast and crew prepare for rehearsals. Meanwhile, costumes, wigs, and make-up are designed and created as pre-taped segments, such as commercial parodies and digital shorts, go into production.

Friday is marked by rehearsals and rewrites.

It's just one day before the live show, and things are frantic and chaotic at Studio 8H, just as it should be. Sketches are rehearsed and rewritten over and over again. Cue cards are prepared. Scripts are reviewed by the network censors.

The sets are finally shipped over from Brooklyn. They can be no taller than 9 feet in order to fit into the freight elevators at 30 Rock.

Saturday is the day of the big show, but the work isn't over just yet.

This is the day of the show, and yet there is still a lot to do. Last minute adjustments to sets, lighting, costumes, and wigs are made. Even on the day of the show, changes continue to get made to the script.

At 8:00 p.m., a crowd sits to watch a dress rehearsal for the show. This gives time for any last minute changes to be made, and any sketches that don't get laughs will get cut before the final show at 11:30 p.m.

After the show ends, there is a big after party that lasts through the night.

According to a sign in the museum, back in the 1970s, "[John] Belushi and [Dan] Aykroyd threw an even more exclusive after-after-party for the favored few in a downtown dive bar on Hudson and Dominick streets they took over and renamed the Blues Bar. Musicians jammed. Belushi and Aykroyd joined them on stage. Keith Richards was said to have tended bar. And no one went home until late the next morning." 

Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition is now on display at Premier Exhibitions in Manhattan at 417 5th Avenue between 37th & 38th.

SEE ALSO: New ‘Saturday Night Live’ documentary recounts the emotional first show after 9/11

AND: Why Judd Apatow returned to stand-up after a two decade hiatus

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NOW WATCH: A behind-the-scenes look at Saturday Night Live — the comedy institution created by a 'strange Canadian’

Brie Larson has been working in the industry since she was in diapers, but the star of the Oscar-buzzworthy drama "Room" (out in wide release Friday) is just now starting to become a known name among moviegoers.

With her incredible acting talent and cheerful personality, she is on the fast track to the kind of stardom that graced Jennifer Lawrence and friend Shailene Woodley before her.

Get to know more about this rising actress here.

SEE ALSO: 8 TV shows you're not watching that you should be

Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers was born in Sacramento, California, in 1989 and has a younger sister.

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She moved with her mother to Los Angeles during her childhood after her parents separated.

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Brie began acting and changed her last name to "Larson" as her surname was too difficult to pronounce.

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Donald Trump's opening monologue on "Saturday Night Live" was surprisingly disrupted by "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star and "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David.

Amid protests and threats of heckling, Trump dedicated his opening monologue to proving that's he's not such a bad person.

"People think I'm controversial, but the truth is I'm a nice guy," the Republican presidential candidate said. "I don't hold grudges against anybody."

He then said Rosie O'Donnell, whom he has criticized in the past, welcomed him to "SNL" this morning. Cast member Aidy Bryant then tried to convince him that she's not O'Donnell.

Trump said, regarding his comments about O'Donnell: "I said some things about her that were mean and completely accurate."

He was then joined by two "SNL" Trump impersonators – the current one Taran Killam and former one Darrell Hammond.

"They're great," Trump said. "They don't have my talent, my money, and especially my good looks. But you know what, they're not bad. And we're going to have a lot of fun tonight."

Suddenly, a voice from the crowd yelled, "You're a racist."

"I knew this was going to happen," Trump reacted. "Who is that?"

"Trump's a racist," the person yelled again, as the camera revealed it was Larry David.

"What are you doing, Larry?" Trump asked.

"I heard if I yelled that, they'd give me $5,000," he responded, referring to a very real offer from activists this week, who were angry about Trump's comments on Mexican immigrants earlier this year.

Watch the exchange below:

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump says he rejected 'risqué' 'SNL' sketches to help him in Iowa polls

MORE: NBC pulls 'SNL' promo with Donald Trump calling Ben Carson a 'total loser'

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NOW WATCH: We unearthed Donald Trump's Vine account from 2013 and it's incredible

A Hispanic advocacy group offered $5,000 to anyone that yelled out "Trump is a racist" during the live SNL broadcast.

Produced by Devan Joseph 

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Actor Larry David returned to the set of "Saturday Night Live" this weekend to lampoon Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) again.

The show's cold-open sketch featured an impersonation of Sanders and the two other Democratic candidates at the Friday night presidential forum hosted by MSNBC.

"OK. OK. I don't need no fancy introduction. I'm not Elvis Presley. Let's just get on with it," David said as he was being introduced as a "second-term senator."

David's impersonation of Sanders last month won praise for portraying the Brooklyn-accented senator as extremely cranky, broke, and easily distracted. That portrayal returned in full form this weekend.

"The other candidates, they're taking millions of dollars from the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil. But not me. I only accept coins. And I'm not talking about fancy coins like dimes and quarters. I just want nickels and pennies, the coins of the middle class," David declared at one point.

"And I don't want new pennies," he added. "So America, if you believe in Bernie, I need you to go home, open your closet, pull out your vacuum, dump it upside down, and send me all the pennies that fall out of it. That's right, I'm Bernie Sanders and I want your vacuum pennies."

For his part, Sanders was in good humor after David initially impersonated him. Asked what he thought of David's performance, Sanders responded by doing his own impression of one of David's catchphrases on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Watch David return as Sanders below:

SEE ALSO: Larry David hilariously parodied Bernie Sanders for 'Saturday Night Live'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Hispanic advocacy group offered $5,000 to anyone that called Trump a racist during 'SNL' — and Larry David did it

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina returned to "The View" on Friday, days after she suggested the show treated her with sexist double standards.

And the show's hosts grilled the Republican presidential candidate, with the interview going on and off the rails at various points in their discussion.

Joy Behar opened up the back and forth by asking how Fiorina could be pro-women due to her opposition to abortion rights and mandatory maternity leave.

Fiorina attacked the question as the "litany of the left." The hosts then repeatedly interrupted her as she accused Planned Parenthood of "harvesting baby parts," a claim similar to her statement at September's Republican presidential debate. 

"Carly, I need to stop you. I need to stop you because you know that's not true. Carly, you know no one is harvesting baby parts. No one is harvesting baby parts. Carly, come on girl," Whoopi Goldberg interjected. "They weren't harvesting baby parts, baby." 

"That offends my sensibility," Behar added.

Watch below:

The discussion got even more heated after the commercial break. Raven-Symoné kicked off the second segment by accusing Fiorina of not talking about the substantive issues in the 2016 race.

"That's interesting, because your question is just completely false. I talk about issues all day long with voters," Fiorina replied.

Last week, the show's hosts said Fiorina's face looked like a "demented" Halloween mask at the Republican presidential debate. Fiorina responded on "Fox News Sunday," where she argued that liberal media treat conservative women like herself with a "double standard" by taking shots at their looks.

On Friday, Goldberg asked Fiorina how she would get a "thicker skin to accept some of the humorous things that will be said about you."

Fiorina pointed out that the show had criticized real-estate mogul Donald Trump after he mocked her face.

"Hey, if you meant your comment about my face being demented and a Halloween mask as humorous, so be it. I guess you misinterpreted Donald Trump's comments about my face and thought those weren't humorous. Because you sort of took him to task," she told Goldberg.

Goldberg soon criticized Fiorina for playing up the "demented" spat. 

"Having watched some of the press that you garnered based on this fake feud with 'The View,' I'm a little taken aback," she said.

Watch below:

NOW WATCH: Carly Fiorina's interview with "The View" was cringeworthy"

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump had an unusual interview on 'The View,' where he got called 'misinformed' and 'Dave'

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Real-estate mogul Donald Trump brought out some dance moves for "Saturday Night Live" this weekend.

The show, which was hosted by the Republican presidential candidate, featured a parody of Drake's viral "Hotline Bling" video.

One of the dancer's was Trump.

"We had a good time," Trump said the next day on Fox News. "But Drake is a much better dancer than I am."

Here's Trump's dancing:

Watch the full video below:

SEE ALSO: Larry David returns as Bernie Sanders for another hilarious 'Saturday Night Live' sketch

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The 24th James Bond movie, "Spectre," didn't hit the astounding opening day number that its predecessor "Skyfall" did in 2012, but it still had an impressive opening weekend.

With an estimated $73 million, "Spectre" now has the second best opening of all time for a Bond movie. "Skyfall" still tops them all with an opening weekend of $88.3 million.

Though some in the industry thought "Spectre" could have an $80 million opening, as it got the widest release of any Bond film ever with 3,972 theaters, the film still has one of the biggest opening weekend figures to date this year.

One reason why "Spectre" didn't get to that $80 million figure is because of its competition.

"The Peanuts Movie" had a better-than-expected opening weekend with an estimated $45 million, as Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the gang in their first feature-length film certainly had the attention of their core family audience (we will certainly see more "Peanuts" movies).  

There were also numerous award-season hopefuls hitting the theaters this weekend, too. "Brooklyn," "Spotlight," and "Trumbo" all had strong first-weekend earnings with "Spotlight" having the best with an estimated $300,000-plus in five theaters ($60,000 per-screen). 

The ensemble drama that looks at Boston Globe investigative writers who expose the Catholic Church child molestation scandal stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and John Slattery.

SEE ALSO: "Spectre" destroyed a crazy number of James Bond cars

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NOW WATCH: A caffeine-free coffee shop opened in NYC and people have a lot to say about it

Ever wonder how you would stack up to James Bond in a job search?

Sure, he's survived 4,662 shots and has the ability to romance the most beautiful women in the world — but MI6, the British secret intelligence service, has gone on record saying they wouldn't hire the fictional Secret Service agent due to his lack of emotional intelligence, and a study from the British Medical Journal found that Bond is a functioning alcoholic, averaging 92 drinks per week. So the competition might not be as fierce as you'd think.

Of course, Bond is a fictional character (who tends to work alone anyway), but if he ever were to step into our world and apply for a job, Kickresume.com put together a fun graphic of what his résumé might look like:

SEE ALSO: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

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NOW WATCH: This Is Exactly What A Hiring Manager Scans For When Reviewing Resumes

Donald Trump said NBC asked him to host "Saturday Night Live" because he would get high ratings, and he delivered.

In preliminary overnight ratings from Nielsen, Variety reports that Trump earned a 6.6 rating with meter-marketed households. What that means is that Trump's episode was rated 57% higher than the show's fall average and 53% higher versus the same episode last year. According to the trade magazine, it was the highest rating since the January 7, 2012, "SNL" episode with host Charles Barkley and musical guest Kelly Clarkson.

Final numbers are expected later this week. For now, it's projected that the episode was watched by 9 million total viewers. That means it beat last season's highest-rated episode with host Chris Rock and musical guest Prince, which was watched by 7.4 million viewers.

The timing of Trump's episode falls during November Sweeps, a period of time in which show ratings inform advertising rates.

Trump appeared on the show for just 12 minutes. Under election law, other candidates could petition for equal time on NBC stations under the "equal opportunity" clause.

Trump's time is much less than the typical "SNL" host spends on-screen, but much more than Hillary Clinton's three minutes and 12 seconds earlier this season.

The unpredictable Republican presidential candidate has been given the credit for helping to boost debate ratings, as well. The previous GOP debates brought in 24 million, 23 million, and 14 million viewers for Fox News in August, CNN in September, and CNBC in October, respectively.

SEE ALSO: Larry David heckles Donald Trump on 'Saturday Night Live': 'You're a racist'

MORE: Donald Trump says he rejected 'risqué' 'SNL' sketches to help him in Iowa polls

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NOW WATCH: A Hispanic advocacy group offered $5,000 to anyone that called Trump a racist during 'SNL' — and Larry David did it

The Latino advocacy group that offered a $5,000 prize to anyone in the audience who disrupted Donald Trump on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" says it will go to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star and "Seinfeld" cocreator Larry David – even if it was part of the show.

Deport Racism tweeted on Sunday morning: "#LarryDavid wins $5K "bounty" from DeportRacism.com for calling Trump RACIST on #SNL. Joke or not, it's true."

During Trump's monologue, David (who had reprised his Bernie Sanders impression during the show's cold open), yelled "You're a racist," then said he had heard that he could make $5,000 for heckling the host.

Latino activists and their supporters had been protesting Trump's hosting gig, because of thecontroversial comments he had made about Mexican immigrants during his June announcement that he would be running for president.

TheWrap reports that about 500 people arrived at New York City's Rockefeller Center (where "SNL" is taped) on Saturday to protest against Trump.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump scores highest 'SNL' ratings in years

MORE: Larry David heckles Donald Trump on 'Saturday Night Live': 'You're a racist'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Hispanic advocacy group offered $5,000 to anyone that called Trump a racist during 'SNL' — and Larry David did it

If you can't wait to feast your eyes on some more precious few seconds of new "Star Wars" footage, Twitter had you covered Sunday.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What Sports Illustrated swimsuit models look like in real life

Broadcaster CBS is close to selling all of its allotted Super Bowl 50 advertising slots in a further indication of the continued appeal of the American sport spectacular to brands.

The result is a bumper pay day for CBS which now has the luxury of bumping up prices for the few slots which remain, prompting president and CEO Les Moonves to rub his hands at the prospect.

Moonves told Ad Age: “With just a few units left to sell, you can imagine what these last few slots will go for.”

Just three months ago buyers were being asked to cough up $5m for a brief 30-second window after an annual average hike in prices of 11.1% over the last five years with CBS commanding costs of just $3.8m in 2013.

Winning bidders this year are thus far keeping their cards close to their chest but are thought to include Super Bowl regular Anheuser-Busch Inbev, which will push its Budweiser and Bud Light brands.

Source: Ad Age

SEE ALSO: Here are all the commercials that ran during the Super Bowl, in order

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NOW WATCH: Here's how Tom Brady — one of the NFL's richest stars — makes and spends his millions

Major TV networks are so scared of Netflix they are actually starting to show fewer ads. Companies like Time Warner, Fox, and Viacom have begun to reverse the trend of trying to shove as many ads in your face as possible.

The reason? They want to lure back younger viewers, who are increasingly living in a cordless future full of Netflix and Hulu, according to Bloomberg.

Time Warner, in particular, is a useful case study.

On a recent earnings call, Time Warner’s CEO pledged to chop its "ad time" in half for primetime shows, starting next year, on its channel "truTV." TruTV is a channel focused on reality programming, and marketed toward the younger viewers Time Warner is most scared of losing. This explains the drastic ad cut.

If this gambit works, Time Warner will extend the strategy to other channels like TBS, TNT, and CNN, executives told Bloomberg.

“We know one of the benefits of an ecosystem like Netflix is its lack of advertising,” Howard Shimmel, a chief research officer at Time Warner, told Bloomberg. “Consumers are being trained there are places they can go to avoid ads.” Once you get used to having no ads, the ones that still exist can become more and more grating.

Broad consumer opinion does seem to have shifted away from ads, not only with the continuing popularity of ad-free streaming services, but also with the rise of "ad blockers."

Ad blockers, programs for web browsers and smartphones that remove ads from websites, have been the subject of recent controversy after Apple decided to allow them on the iPhone. Media companies have argued that this software will destroy companies who rely on ad-based revenue, while advocates have said that it will force the industry to make ads less intrusive.

But whatever their effect, they are catching on, and seem to represent how much the public hates the current model of advertising.

Time Warner, and others, seem to have felt this shift in consumer thinking around ads, and want to rescue their business model before it's too late. And while not filling TV to bursting with ads might seem like a pretty obvious business strategy to entice millennials, it’s actually the exact opposite of what the big TV companies had been doing before.

Since 2009, the average “ad time” per hour on cable has gone up from 14:27 to 15:38, according to Nielsen. Broadcast TV has seen a similar bump, going from 13:25 to 14:15 minutes per hour. And cable channels have actually sped up re-runs to get two minutes more of advertising per show. 

This strategy seems set to change. Whether it will help cable companies in their war against Netflix is less certain. Beyond not having ads, Netflix and HBO actually seem to be simply better at making shows than the major networks.

SEE ALSO: This chart shows how good Netflix is at making shows compared to television networks

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NOW WATCH: Cable channels are speeding up 'Seinfeld' reruns to squeeze in more commercials

CBS is giving the coveted post-Super Bowl spot on February 7 to "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." That will make it the first late-night series to air in the spot.

"The Late Late Show with James Corden" will then follow with its own special episode.

“It’s been a very big year in late night at CBS,” said CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller, in a press release. “We’re extremely proud of our two new late night franchises, and we’re thrilled to give Stephen and James this big Super Bowl Sunday showcase.”

It's an interesting twist for the network as the slot is typically used to bolster primetime shows. The last time CBS aired the game, it gave "Elementary" the spot. Last year, NBC gave it to "Blacklist."

Being the most-watched network in primetime gives CBS the opportunity to use the space in a different way.

Colbert is scoring higher ratings than Letterman year-over-year. Season-to-date, “The Late Show” is up 60% in the advertiser-coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic (0.8 from 0.5),  and up 43% with the show's key audience, 25- to 54-year-olds (1.0 from 0.7). In total viewers, the talk show is seeing a 20% increase in viewers (3.29 million from 2.74 million).

The 19th Super Bowl is set to air at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 7.

SEE ALSO: Liam Neeson guest-stars in Stephen Colbert's vision of a Candy Crush movie

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