Ferguson beats O’Brien at last

Recently sworn-in U.S. citizen Craig Ferguson is being embraced by his new countrymen: The late-night comic hit a ratings milestone last week with his first victory over NBC’s Conan O’Brien.

The CBS “Late Late Show” averaged more viewers than O’Brien’s “Late Night” (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first week during which they each competed with all-original shows since Ferguson started in January 2005.

It caps a slow and steady climb for Ferguson and raises a red flag for future “Tonight” show host O’Brien, although NBC says it is still happy with O’Brien’s audience.

Ferguson, a Scotsman, passed an American citizenship test and was formally sworn in on Feb. 1. He’ll be host of the annual White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington later this month, a high-profile gig for a comic.