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NYT: Canceling 'The Late Show' Is Bad News for Late-Night TV, Not for Stephen Colbert
NYT link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/arts/television/stephen-colbert-the-late-show-canceled-comedy.html
Archived (no paywall) link: https://archive.ph/YT63H#selection-525.0-525.80
The art form was already in decline; this may hasten its demise.
But don’t fret about the host. His talents are better showcased elsewhere.
Getting canceled may end up being the best thing that ever happened to Stephen Colbert. The same cannot be said for its impact on late night television.
Consider that Conan O’Brien turned into a folk hero after NBC took away his time slot and that David Letterman hit the height of his popularity after he didn’t get the job as host of “The Tonight Show.” Until last week, Colbert, host of “The Late Show,” was the ratings leader of an art form in decline.
Then CBS, citing economic issues, announced that his program would go off the air next May, news that came at a time when its corporate parent, Paramount, needs the government’s approval for a merger with the Skydance company. Now Colbert, one of the most prominent critics of President Trump, seems to many like a comedic martyr. For the next 10 months, his show will have a spotlight in a way it never has before. He will not only have a chance to continue to make fun of the president, but he also will be setting himself up for his next act.
Marrying a pugilistic comedic streak with courtly manners, Colbert became the finest conversationalist of the current hosts and his political monologues helped him become a ratings leader. He respected the history and conventions of late-night television, perhaps to a fault. But you also got the sense that “The Late Show” wasn’t always the perfect showcase for his myriad talents.
His quick, improv-honed wit and intellectual depth could feel hamstrung by the show’s short segments. And sometimes when he got on a good riff or dug into an area of major interest (Tolkien, faith, the history of comedy), you wondered if it would fit better on a podcast.
- more at link -
Consider that Conan O’Brien turned into a folk hero after NBC took away his time slot and that David Letterman hit the height of his popularity after he didn’t get the job as host of “The Tonight Show.” Until last week, Colbert, host of “The Late Show,” was the ratings leader of an art form in decline.
Then CBS, citing economic issues, announced that his program would go off the air next May, news that came at a time when its corporate parent, Paramount, needs the government’s approval for a merger with the Skydance company. Now Colbert, one of the most prominent critics of President Trump, seems to many like a comedic martyr. For the next 10 months, his show will have a spotlight in a way it never has before. He will not only have a chance to continue to make fun of the president, but he also will be setting himself up for his next act.
Marrying a pugilistic comedic streak with courtly manners, Colbert became the finest conversationalist of the current hosts and his political monologues helped him become a ratings leader. He respected the history and conventions of late-night television, perhaps to a fault. But you also got the sense that “The Late Show” wasn’t always the perfect showcase for his myriad talents.
His quick, improv-honed wit and intellectual depth could feel hamstrung by the show’s short segments. And sometimes when he got on a good riff or dug into an area of major interest (Tolkien, faith, the history of comedy), you wondered if it would fit better on a podcast.
I've been thinking along the same lines. Whether Colbert morphs into podcasting, or lands with another network or cable channel, he'll be fine.
Another thing I've wondered is this: Colbert must have known that CBS was reviewing his contract for renewal. That always happens during the last year of the old contract, and he knew his was up. Did he provoke the network powers by deliberately letting the anti-CBS stuff fly? Was he really hoping the show would be closed so that he could leave holding his head high? Hmmm....
4 replies
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John Stewart is closer I think, but he's making good money on Comedy Central.
