Arsenio Hall Scores Big In Return to Late Night

Arsenio Hall's return to late night was a huge hit. Hall beat out all the other late night shows in the key demographic.  

Hall began his show saying, "I'm back and back is beautiful."

Tuesday's Variety said, "promising numbers" and "big gains."

Stephen Battaglio of TV Guide told INSIDE EDITION, "It's a big country and  there are a lot of choices, and Arsenio is now one of them."

It's been nearly 20 years since since he walked away from his original show.  

"Leave it to the first black late night host to take 19 years off work, and come back here and expect my job to still be here waiting for me," joked Hall.

He got help from a good friend to help kick off the new show in a skit with him lying on a couch saying, "Once I'm at number one, I should be able to stay in late night forever if I want to. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

Jay Leno leaned in and said, "Yeah, good luck with that. Let me know how that works out for you."

There was a surprise appearance by another Arsenio Hall pal, ex-girlfriend Paula Abdul who said, "I know I'm speaking for millions: we've all missed you so much."

"Arsenio was really a ground breaking personality on late night TV when he exploded onto the scene in the 1990s, and people still remember that," said Battaglio.