The Late Show on CBS is DEAD TO ME

I watched it on and off for the past few years - it was just 'meh'. At times, I felt like Colbert was just trying way too hard to be likeable and funny.

Gee, what a coincidence, they cancel a show that Trump hates.

I didn’t know it was still on

The mainstream shows still have no idea how to utilize YouTube or the current media platform landscape correctly. They can’t even figure out how to post a Youtube channel that would have been good enough for ten years ago, so they certainly never had a hope of figuring out TikTok.

I loved Colbert as his fictional Republican-loving self on his old show, but I’ve never warmed to his current show.

I looked up the ratings for late night shows, thinking maybe they were losing viewer, but it’s actually performing well.

It’s bullshit of the highest order!!!

🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬🤬😡🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

I curse the day that orange piece of shit was born.

CBS: "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

I can't say I believe this.

Another year? The Fall season should begin minus The Late Show.

He had a good run that ended many many years ago

Never got Stephen Colbert's appeal And I stopped watching the show years ago when he kept repeatedly going on about Trump even during the Biden administration. Whether you like Trump or not at some point one wants a break. And if this is supposed to be entertainment it wasn't providing that.

Bring back the Report!

This is sad. Colbert has never danced around the hot political topics and has always dissed the orange trumpster fire.

I sense a small, rotting, brown hand in this

The Colbert Report was funny.

His show in its current incarnation has never been very good.

[quote] CBS: "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Oh, it feels good to laugh again!!

I love him and loved his show. He seemed interested in his guests and was always polite to them. He was irreverent and clever.

Yet, Jimmy Fallon still walks among us.

Colbert just had that unfunny bitch on trying to be the new Andy Kaufman. It was all over after that.

Putting Megan Stalter on the show last night made him worthy of cancellation.

Yet Jimmy Fallon keeps his show. Crazy.

They’re also cancelling the entire Late Show franchise after 33 years. What will take its place?

I watched Colbert regularly when he took over The Late Show & liked him. But after the Trump jokes & mocking started to tale over until they were eventually the entire monologue I got bored with the show. Colbert & his writers became too tunnel-visioned. I love a good Trump take down, but night after night of predictable puns about Trump simply gets stale. Sure, some people love that, but I feel like the show was just fulfilling a rabid audience that had it in for Trump. I think Colbert underestimated a good deal of his audience, people who wanted something other than politics from a comedian who's apparently smart enough to deliver it. I think that's a real miscalculation of his initial viewship's intelligence. At 11:35 I wasn't in the mood for prosaic material about how awful Donald Trump is. I already had that all day from most everyone else.

Bring back James Corden!

CBS needs to get rid of the 10 pm hour and start late night at 10:30.

There are rumors that The Daily Show is also facing the chopping block due to the upcoming merger… and no doubt Trump.

Lumpy did this.

[quote] There are rumors that The Daily Show is also facing the chopping block due to the upcoming merger… and no doubt Trump.

No matter what, people are going to say that. Colbert is no Carson or Leno, or even Letterman, and that’s a bad thing. He should have been replaced a long time ago.

In all honesty, this kind of show is a money pit. Watch What Happens Live probably cost 1/10th an episode of Late Show.

I don't think CBS would be discontinuing a profitable show. Network needs winners these days, not programming that needs coddling or satisfies a niche audience. Anyone saying that Trump has something to do with this is just sounding paranoid.

Knew this would happen, but thought it would wait until after the merger. Jon Stewart is at TDS through the end of the year. I don't see that lasting much past that

Btw - this is what fascism looks like

Uh, Colbert’s ratings are huge. He makes the network tons of money.

[quote] I don't think CBS would be discontinuing a profitable show.

Well they are. Colbert’s ratings are the largest. Reddit pulled out the numbers. This is Trump through and through. You can expect others to follow that are political and anti-Trump. He’s successfully sued over the Kamala interview. They’re all scared shitless.

He's not funny and his clothes suck!

I found his "Quarantinewhile" segments during the pandemic comforting.

[quote]They’re also cancelling the entire Late Show franchise after 33 years. What will take its place?

Brenda Dickson introducing reruns of old episodes of "The Young and the Restless."

[bold] KIMMEL gave an interview last fall pretty much saying Late Night is going to be phased out....[/bold]....LINK...

Colbert's monologues get decent views on YouTube as well.

Give the slot to David Spade. His Comedy Central late night show was great. It was a panel show, like the old Politically Incorrect.

He helped normalize Trump with humor, and this shit ain't funny.

Colbert became unwatchable. Like the View. Every day was endless complaints about TRUMP. At least Kimmel does other comedy bits. Fallon looks like the corporate kiss ass who would host the Tonight Show for minimum wage.

Jimmy Kimmel:

[quote]“Love you Stephen. Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.”

R6 you forgot this one Mary

Here's a guess: The sale of Paramount (which includes CBS) to Skydance Media has not yet been approved by the Trump administration, and Colbert is certainly an irritation to Trump. What if the sellers get rid of Colbert to further grease the deal so that new ownership doesn't get blood on their hands? The buyers didn't get rid of Colbert, Shari Redstone, the seller did! This plus the $16 million to Trump from the fake CBS lawsuit gives Trump enough to have his admin approve the deal.

With 3 more years of Shitler.. Colbert will not be looking for work.

R40 - Colbert does other comedy bits as well, like Meanwhile and holiday cards.

Who is the audience for network television anymore? And who was the audience for all those late-night white males: Colbert, Leno, Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, O'Brien . . .aging boomers.

Seth Meyers is the best of the bunch. Political but funny, with good guests.

[quote] With 3 more years of Shitler.. Colbert will not be looking for work.

Huh?

Late night and SNL are archaic concepts.

[quote] Colbert "produced" Dylan Mulvaney on CBS.

Produced what?

R41 what did he mean by that?

Colbert is #1 in late night ratings wise.

R47, Fallon, Kimmel and Meyers aren’t aging Boomers. They’re all aging Gen X.

I thought Conan was too because his humor was always so Gen X ironic, but he was born in 1963.

He's so boring, just look at the guy!

The same week he criticized CBS for settling with Trump. Huh.

LINK...Latest Late Night Ratings (TV Insider)....

Yep, Colbert is consistently #1. CBS dropped him because the merger has to be okayed by Trump and he hates Colbert.

PARAMOUNT PUSSIES TO TRUMP.

Colbert hates Trump and I love him for that…

Bullshit. No network would cancel the consistently top rated show of it's time slot. They are bowing to Trump.

It's all about the bottom line!!!

It's not personal, just business!

Business as in cowering to a fucking fascist.

It's also about the demographics and advertisers look at the age groups that are watching a show and boomers ain't the age group they're going after

R34, same here. I found Colbert so comforting to watch each night during that time.

[Quote] And who was the audience for all those late-night white males: Colbert, Leno, Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, O'Brien . . .aging boomers.

R54 I was referring to the viewers. These shows don't draw much viewership from the key demographic ages 21-49 And I suspect that the same is true for almost any network television show.

THE YEAR IS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

I stand corrected, R66. I misread your post.

I am glad you didn’t include James Corden, though. Not because he’s Gen X, but because he doesn’t appeal to anyone, no matter the generation.

Colbert is great. This is a political move and it sucks.

Of course they’re bowing to Dump. CBS will no longer have a late night talk show because they would have to worry about the next host criticizing Dump. It’s a new and scary dystopian world and getting worse everyday.

CBS has announced the replacement show and host

Graham Norton is the best at this. Best interviewer and best at reading the room and keeping the levity going, best at making sure no guest is left out by an overpowered guest.

The American ones seem stuck in the 1900s, with a business suit and dreary like they're on job interview.

The Dear Leader Show.

Some Twitter users are also pointing out that since CBS is ending Colbert's show in May 2026, Colbert will have zero impact on the mid-term elections later that year (unless he pops up somewhere else on another network or streaming service.)

Jimmy Kimmel Supports Stephen Colbert Amid Late Show Cancellation: ‘F–k You CBS and All Your Sheldons’

I love Jimmy Kimmel and him slamming Trump every night.

[quote] Graham Norton is the best at this. Best interviewer and best at reading the room

Oh, do fuck off with that bullshit.

I'm surprised no one is calling for a boycott of CBS .... but then again since no one watches CBS, I guess there's not much point.

Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno....never did politics on the Tonight Show. And they did just fine. David Letterman steered clear of politics too.

Colbert made his show all about politics. Even his guests: lots of Dem politicians and lefty journalists.

It's as if he forgot what late night TV was about.

I agree that Graham Norton is good at managing his guests and making sure each of them shine - how often do you see Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise relaxed and silly? - but his show is also sort of boring with celebrities kissing up to each other.

I'm also one of those who loved the Colbert Show and didn't like him as host of the Late Show at all.

I worry about the chain reaction through late night to SHUT UP ABOUT TRUMP. I would watch their monologs next day and was comforted by their humor and criticism of orange-shit but watch them all pipe down.

Is Norton a Farage suck up?

Steve Colbert and Seth Meyer. Both Northwestern alums.

I don't watch paramount so I guess I’m already boycotting. Does anyone know if there is an anti -Paramount campaign going on or anything a kin to that? Thanks.

Maybe “SNL” on NBC next. 🧐🙏🏼😝

Colbert is rumored to be hung like a horse.

Christian persecution!

The generalized acquiescence to the evil Trump dictatorship is appalling. The country and its institutions are becoming rotten to the core.

This is a terrible moment in TV and political history.

The #1 show in late night was shut down because it criticized the corrupt president of the U.S.

Depressing and terrifying.

Well, to Colbert's credit, he fucked with Trump and his corporate overlord. Now he finds out. Fuck around and you find out.

So Seth Meyers...

Lots of trolls on this thread, hm, suddenly everyone should shut up about "politics" on late night TV. Where is this written, Magas?

[quote] Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno....never did politics on the Tonight Show. And they did just fine. David Letterman steered clear of politics too.

That is not true about Letterman. He went after George W. Bush during the war in Iraq, and dragged the fuck out of sycophantic bootlickers like Bill O’Reilly when they were guests on his show.

What is expensive about a late night show. Colbert's salary, the crew, and guest flights and accommodations. How much could that be? Don't they own the theater?

Hope Colbert burns the place down

The show is monetized — and monetizable — six ways to Sunday.

Broadcast advertising, streaming ads, ads on social channels inc. YouTube.

Not to mention it's a lucrative platform to promote CBS shows.

And it encourages watching "live" because it's topical.

It's #1 in late night. The cancellation is 100% a ring-kiss to King Dump so the merger gets approved. A sick and sad moment.

Dear leader: I’m so so sorry for having affected thee—-so fuck off!

[quote] Putting Megan Stalter on the show last night made him worthy of cancellation.

I had a discussion with a stranger, who, along with his friends, seemed to find Statler just hysterical, a blazing new talent. He failed to explain why, and I couldn't help him. To be fair, I have only seen her painful-to-watch performance on Hacks.

I never could get into him, was only able to watch for a few minutes. He inserted too much of himself into interviews, and seemed to be 'ON' all the time. And that gets tiresome; you're just not that interesting.

[quote] Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno....never did politics on the Tonight Show.

Jack Paar traveled to Cuba to interview Castro.

Johnny Carson was constantly lambasting Dan Quayle

Steve Allen…Not sure. He had Lenny Bruce on a lot.

Jay Leno…Well, you might have a point

I record Kimmel, Colbert, and Myers, but then rarely watch them other than through clips on YouTube. Kimmel has done a good job of putting essentially all his content out for streaming.

I'll commit to watching Colbert for the duration. Hope he dials up the Trump ridicule and abuse to the maximum for his remaining time.

Fox's Gutwipe claims of victor in the late-night ratings, yet he has zero competition in his time slot other than Andy Cohen.

I will never not believe Trump had something to do with this. I hope Stephen gets a new show on a new network.

I’m sure he will. Definitely a podcast. They’re having a Strangers with Candy reunion show tonight.

Trump's settlement with Paramount over his asinine $20 billion 60 Minutes nuisance lawsuit was supposedly limited to $16 million payment. But he's been bragging that he got additional concessions out of Skydance following the merger, which, while possibly illegal like so very many of his maneuvers, might very well have included his demands for changes to CBS programming. Colbert is a natural first target.

Sucks big time.

They better leave Seth alone.

[quote] In all honesty, this kind of show is a money pit. Watch What Happens Live probably cost 1/10th an episode of Late Show.

And not even worth that! 90% of the guests are Bravo reality TV personalities.

Capitulation Broadcast Station

Capitulation Broadcast System

I wonder if this has anything to do with the legal notice Rose Cholmondeley sent Colbert because of that grotesque lie he spewed about her and Prince William, and at a time when William's wife had serious medical issues.

Fuck CBS.

I'd boycott, but Colbert and After Midnight are the only shows I watch on their Gestapo-boot-licking geriatric network anyway.

[quote] In all honesty, this kind of show is a money pit.

Wrong. It’s the #1 late night show and makes them millions. This is all about the merger which has to be okayed by Trump.

Capitulation Broadcast System Of The Down

In the 1946 film Dragonwyck with Vincent Price, there is a scene where Price's character repeatedly says "pay your tribute to the dragoon". In contemporary terms this means "give me money". Trump has done this to media companies and law firms.

I do not for one second believe CBS's reason is "financial". They are caving to Trump. Trumpy is busy "manufacturing consent".

I don't know anyone who watches those late night shows, except for some random clips online.

R79, Colbert was a political satirist long before he landed his current gig, and his determination to keep on with it in the face of Trump's threats has been admirable. He and DL between them have been responsible for most of the most damaging jokes I know about Trump. I will never forget how upset he was during his first monologue after January 6.

Many of those guys you mentioned had their early careers during McCarthyism, and they either sympathised with the far Right (Jack Paar--who was also fond of the liberal use of the term "swishing fairy") or they had learned that if you want success you can't speak out. Colbert is of an age to know that speaking out is imperative in these, very similar, conditions.

You deserve a break, Steve. Go live in New Zealand for a while, and let distance, their sense of humour and the proximity of Hobbiton restore you.

R116: That's like criticizing the tune Nero is playing on his fiddle while Rome burns.

Comedy Central should pick him up, they have a chance to give a big f-u to Tr&mp

R2 CNN hinted that this may be a result of the settlement CBS made with Trump. Colbert's show IS the most watched of the late night shows. Makes no sense to cancel it because it "cost too much"

R106 Well posted.

Comedy Central = owned by Paramount R118

R121 THAT'S a big not gonna happen.

The late night talk show is no money pit. It is in fact cheaper than most other types of TV series. It has the same set so no demands for new sets, a minimal crew, a house band filled with mostly unknowns...until they get famous and leave. The guests get a small honorarium. I remember back in the days of Carson reading that it was $300. I'm sure it's more now, but certainly no more than $1500 no matter who it is. So the main expense is the host. And Colbert was not in the same league as Letterman when it came to his money. He is in his 10th year, and Letterman picked him, or at the very least endorsed him as a good choice. I like Colbert because he has smart people on most of the time. I usually skip his monologues. He has excellent guests. The budget was not the issue. It was a political decision no matter what they say. Colbert will be around even if he has to self produce on a streaming service.

Since the election, I've comforted myself by watching Colbert's monologues on YouTube, saying to myself, "Hey -- as long as Colbert can spew this stuff, we're still a free country."

Just one more nail in the coffin.

[quote] Johnny Carson was constantly lambasting Dan Quayle

And your brain has processed that to mean that Johnny Carson was exactly like Colbert. Are you also unable to properly process other aspects of reality?

Late night is on the way out. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. The fact that they are canceling the late show and not just replacing the host says a lot. They also completely cancelled the late late show too instead of just replacing James Corden as some thought they would.

Network television is on the way out. Boomers are their only audience.

Having so many late night talk shows doesn’t make sense. It would be better to have counter-programming and it would probably be more profitable to rerun old shows like Dallas or Gunsmoke in the time period.

[quote]And your brain has processed that to mean that Johnny Carson was exactly like Colbert. Are you also unable to properly process other aspects of reality?

Exactly.

Carson, Paar, Letterman, Leno, Allen....none of them made political humor their brand. None of them focused on politics the way Colbert does.

It’s so funny to be that everyone warned for 2 years from 2022-2024 about how fascism was coming to America

AND THEN

are BAFFLED when it happens, like they warned it would.

The Fox late night host Gutfelt has a punchable face.

David Letterman and his OLD MAN 👴 look 😑

Donald Trump responds to the firing with glee, but he has a much longer to-do list:

[quote] Trump posted on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”

Stephen sends his love, he's going to be fine.

I never watched broadcast TV except for live events like sports or award shows, and definitely haven't sat up late with the clicker in hand for a late night talk show since some point in the Obama administration. It's such an outdated model. This is sad, but inevitable. I remember staying up to watch David Letterman as a kid, but times have changed and the world moves on.

Jimmy Kimmel's contract with ABC expires in 2026. This is what he said about his future as a talk show host (from the NY Post):

[quote] In February, Kimmel told the LA Times that he’s had thoughts about wrapping up his late-night show after 20 years.

[quote] “I think this is my final contract,” Kimmel said, adding, “That seems pretty good. That seems like enough.”

Only Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers would be left if ABC doesn't replace Kimmel (if) he leaves in 2026.

I'm a Gen Xer who grew up on and never really stopped watching late night talk shows, and I'll watch Colbert's show until the end. He may not be the best host or comedian, but as he said last night, 200 people work there, not just him. He's supported so many causes, promoted Broadway shows and performers, and interviewed politicians, writers, and social activists as well as celebrities. I know times have changed and the world will move on, as R135 stated, but I will miss this show and wonder what will become of the Ed Sullivan theater. It's just a tiny drop in a big bucket, but I canceled my Paramount+ subscription last night.

Bastards.

Missed the CBS morning show. Did they address this? Probably made excuses.

Dipshit Gayle acted like they didn't hear anything about it until this morning. I snickered.

She's the one they should get rid of.

BTW, I only watch "Your day, in 90 seconds."

Who cares – good riddance, all those talk shows are relic from a different era, the Johnny Carson era.

[quote] Who cares – good riddance, all those talk shows are relic from a different era, the Johnny Carson era.

I haven't watched a talk show in 25 years or more but the pathetic excuse for cancellation is what's driving the criticism.

I care R141 because I don’t want the government influencing what I can and cannot watch.

R142, it's not a pathetic excuse. Cbs also cancelled their other flagship late night show. Clearly they're getting out of the late night business.

CBS famously dropped all of its popular rural programs and I don’t think it was because of Nixon. Companies make business decisions, looking at what direction they want to go.

CBS cancelled the rural programs because they wanted to attract a younger and more urban audience.

R145, yup and all those shows were still in the top 10.

It would make sense for CBS to want to end overtly political shows like Colbert’s. Colbert gives an FU to half of the American viewing public. Analysis by CBS may show that as a result, that half then has a negative regard to all of its other programming. With dwindling network viewership, they can’t afford to say FU to half of their potential audience. I’m surprised it’s taken this long.

R145 Absurd argument. Just because CBS makes decisions for financial reasons doesn't mean they also don't use it as an excuse in some cases.

Even before the election the handwriting was on the wall

'Late night will need more than that kind of innovation to survive, though. The truth is that the format may simply die out due to the economics that forced NBC to pull back on weekly episodes. Several hosts, including Fallon and Meyers, are locked into long-term contracts with several more years on them, so that may prolong any definitive action. But at this point, with ratings on a long decline and the number of choices up, it’s hard to see three major shows surviving for another decade. We’ll likely see fewer and fewer live nights in the meantime. '9/11/2024

At the very least the optics were bad. Btw, we're really talking about Paramount not CBS here when the argument is made that the decision might have been political.

Clearly the "financial reason" is the inability to have Paramount sell to Skydance, which the Trump administration would have to approve. I would not be surprised if they specifically insisted it be cancelled.

Can't wait to see what money-making show CBS puts in this time slot next year.

[quote] Comedy Central should pick him up, they have a chance to give a big f-u to Tr&mp

It’s still Viacom. It’s all Paramount. The Daily Show is also reportedly facing that axe thanks to the merger.

This is why the show was cancelled.

The merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media requires approval from the FCC, led by Trump supporter Brendan Carr. Since Paramount recently paid out $16 million to Trump to settle his suit against 60 Minutes, this merger is expected to happen.

Skydance Media was founded by David Ellison, and his father, Larry Ellison, co-founder of the Oracle Corporation, is also involved in the operation of the company. Larry Ellison is investing $6 billion into the merger and is putting up a majority stake in the deal. Both men are Trump supporters.

Don't be surprised if Jon Stewart is the next to go.

The CNN article (Inside CBS’ ‘agonizing decision’ to cancel Colbert’s top-rated late-night show) explains that there were financial reasons to cancel the show, but the suddenness of the cancelation may be related to the upcoming merger and the political affiliation of the buyers.

[quote] That’s why one person close to Colbert described the show’s retirement, effective in May 2026, as a “casualty of the merger.”

[quote] That merger is CBS parent Paramount’s long-gestating deal with Skydance, a media company controlled by David Ellison, son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison.

[quote] The elder Ellison is a longtime friend of President Trump and has previously described himself as a Trump supporter. And David Ellison was spotted with the president earlier this year at UFC matches.

[quote] The pending deal matters for two reasons: One, because companies almost always try to cut costs around the time of a merger; and two, because the deal requires sign-off from the Trump administration.

[Quote] Can't wait to see what money-making show CBS puts in this time slot next year.

CBS already owns popular sitcoms and dramas they could rerun with ads for reverse home mortgages, and they don't have to pay anyone $15 million a year

If Les Moonves had kept his pants on, it may not have come to this.

The cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert signals the end of late-night talk shows as we have known them. There are many ways in which one can assign meaning to the news which grabbed headlines on Thursday, but the bigger overall reality is that late-night talk just isn't hitting the sweet spot for CBS and other networks. Maybe it's simply a case of today's personalities not being as good or as funny as Johnny Carson or David Letterman, but regardless, the late-night talk-show concept seems to be on the way out.

I know a lot of people will dismiss this as the cancellation of a silly talkshow, but it's so much more than that. This is not good. It's not America.

I worry about what this means for Star Trek.

The three federal branches are letting this happen. Why? I can see the Supreme Court having several individuals who are conservative, cynical and corrupt. But the entire elected Republican congress? Craven immoral cunts. Big Beautiful Bill so fucking cynical. Never convicting trump when impeached. Appalling.

The supposed obsolescence of network late-night talk shows in 2025 is absolutely not the main issue here.

Trump Says ‘I Absolutely Love’ That Stephen Colbert Got ‘Fired’ and ‘I Hear Jimmy Kimmel Is Next’

Donald Trump rails against ‘moron’ late night hosts while celebrating Colbert cancellation

I saw a clip of Brian Stelter reporting on CNN that In fact CBS has not been able to sell sufficient ads to cover the cost of the show and it is now unprofitable despite its popularity. What more do people need?

[quote]It's not America.

It is now.

His show is expensive. The band costs a fortune, for example. High staffing. Seth Meyers now operates on a shoestring. I like Seth's A Closer Look more than Colbert's political bits. All the hosts are on autopilot and Trump provided too many years of material. Kimmel Meyers and Colbert are all good enough despite their flaws.

R166 - nobody needs a full-time band anymore. That's a holdover from the 50s and 60s anyway.

They could reduce costs easily - this is a bullshit move by some exec over Trump. That's all it is. And we all should be very pissed off about it.

The View has now also tamped down discussions of Trump and other major topics.

Well, that settles it, R164. Don’t forget to take your blinders off when crossing the street.

It should be mentioned that Stephen has always been very, very gay friendly in a warm and intelligent way.

I will miss him.

[quote]I saw a clip of Brian Stelter reporting on CNN that In fact CBS has not been able to sell sufficient ads to cover the cost of the show

That’s a lie. CNN is run by a MAGAt and CBS knows how bad this looks.

[quote]His show is expensive.

Let’s see the receipts MAGAt.

Send him packing with pay until end of contract. Begin new 11:30 show with Fall Season in September.

Can't he go to Netflix? Apple+? There's gotta be a place for him [italic]somewhere[/italic].

Although, if I were in his shoes, I'd be looking at a home somewhere in Europe.

WGA wants NY AG to investigate:

CBS Cares

So now the union representing some of the writers of the Colbert show are asking for a special investigation from Ms. James’ office in NY state.

Bribery may have been involved, they state in the letter. . Or definitely was involved.

I hope she does investigate.

This was an article from the Hollywood Reporter.

From The Hollywood Reporter article:

"The same source predicts that Paramount will put the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater at Broadway between 53rd and 54th street on the market in conjunction with the end of the Late Show..."

Fortunately, according to Wikipedia:

"The neo-Gothic interior is a New York City designated landmark, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places."

But with the way things are today, who knows. That location is prime real estate for a high-rise condo.

[quote]So now the union representing some of the writers of the Colbert show are asking for a special investigation from Ms. James’ office in NY state.

Wait, what could she possibly have to do with it?

They’ll turn the theater into a Walgreens.

I cancelled my subscription to Paramount+ this morning in protest, specifying the reason why.

Trump's immediate joy over Colbert's cancellation is nearly a confirmation this was a political move.

[quote] Trump's immediate joy over Colbert's cancellation is nearly a confirmation this was a political move.

Because if he had nothing to do it he would have been silent and not gloated at all? Do think these things through at all?

R183 Better than your proofreading

[quote] I cancelled my subscription to Paramount+ this morning in protest, specifying the reason why.

Same!

Have you read Mary Geddry's Substack column? She's one of the sharpest wits keeping us informed on our current political situation.

Today's column is relevant to this thread:

"Well, folks, the axe has finally fallen. The Trump regime didn’t just come for the courts, the civil service, or PBS—now they’ve come for the jokes. Stephen Colbert, the last late-night host with a functioning spine and a working vocabulary, has been canceled by CBS. Not for ratings (he was winning), not for scandal (he’s practically a Boy Scout by industry standards), but for the unforgivable sin of mocking Trump one too many times.

CBS and their mothership, Paramount Global, are peddling the usual corporate fairy tale: this was merely a “financial decision.” You know, the same way authoritarian regimes always claim the newspaper just happened to go bankrupt after it criticized the Supreme Leader. Colbert went on air, called Paramount’s $16 million hush-money settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe” on Monday, and by Wednesday, The Late Show was dead in the water. Imagine that coincidence."

(Read the rest using link below.)

Geddry also posts her columns on her FB page titled 'Oregon's Bay Area'.

[quote]Stephen Colbert, the last late-night host with a functioning spine and a working vocabulary

I wonder how Jimmy Kimmel feels about that statement.

[Quote] cancelled my subscription to Paramount+ this morning in protest, specifying the reason why.

[Quote] Same!

I think I hear Paramount stock dropping

R188 It won't be just two people cancelling. Thousands of cancelled subscriptions mean less eyes for their advertisers. That might get Paramount's attention, and noticed by other media thinking of sucking up to dear leader. One of the few things we have control over is how and where we spend our money.

I think it's better to do something positive than nothing at all. At the very least, it's a satisfying way to say "fuck you."

Peak Colbert

[Quote] It won't be just two people cancelling. Thousands of cancelled subscriptions mean less eyes for their advertisers. That might get Paramount's attention, and noticed by other media thinking of sucking up to dear leader. One of the few things we have control over is how and where we spend our money.

Network television gets less than 20% of the total audience and Stephen Colbert lost about a million viewers over the last five years,

BTW how is that boycott of Target working out?

[quote]BTW how is that boycott of Target working out?

Effectively.

This isn't the first time CBS caved to presidential bitching.

In 1969, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was just about the hottest thing on CBS. They were sharp, topical, and extremely popular with young audiences. But their jabs at Presidents Johnson and Nixon, and the Vietnam War, distressed the affiliates and landed them in hot water with Nixon's White House. CBS (under that philandering cock-knocker Bill Paley) demanded Tommy and Dick tone it down severely, and stop with the political shit. No more Joan Baez songs. No more sketches about Native American humor or Haldeman. No more of what their young audience wanted and their young performers - including a then-unknown Steve Martin - were eager to perform.

Tommy and Dick didn't even have time to think it over before Paley broke their contract and cancelled them. They sued for breach, won, and made a mockery of the Tiffany Network. Tricky Dick remained distrustful of CBS for the rest of his presidency, and this move didn't buy them any goodwill.

R192 foot traffic is down at many retail stores.

If that sounds unthinkable for the #1 rated show at 11:35pm, consider this: as Matt Belloni reports today in Puck, back in 2018, all of late-night television combined generated $438 million in advertising revenue. By 2023, that number had been cut in half, and it has continued to fall.

Given that The Late Show—with its handsomely paid host and a staff of roughly 200 employees—reportedly costs CBS $100 million per year to produce, that $40 million figure becomes easier to understand.

Belloni also reports that CBS executives had been discussing the future of its Late Show franchise for months, and that Colbert’s team was informed around July Fourth that the show was in jeopardy.

White man can't dance

Colbert makes $16 a year and has the highest rated show of the broadcast late night talk shows.

But here are the salaries of the other (lower rated shows):

Jimmy Fallon: $16 million a year

Jimmy Kimmel: $15 million a year

So.... how are they able to continue? If none of them are willing to do severe cost cutting including the cutting of their own salaries, then they may be outta here when their contracts are up. Kimmel's contract is up in 2026, and Fallon's is up in 2028.

"Colbert makes $15 million to 16 million a year"

I think there is money to made in late night talk show with celebrity interviews, if the hosts are not routinely doing political monologues. Currently they are preaching to the converted and it turns off everyone else. Still I thought it was important to have this form of punditry to keep spot light on how deplorable the trump presidencies have been. In other words, it's complicated.

[quote]The Writers Guild of America is urging New York state prosecutors to open an investigation into CBS’s abrupt decision to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” shortly after its host criticized the network’s recent settlement with President Donald Trump.

[quote]Colbert on Tuesday called the $16 million settlement “a big fat bribe,” given that Trump oversees the Federal Communications Commission. The owners of CBS’s parent company, Paramount, need that agency to approve a merger that would reportedly personally benefit them.

Thanks for the memories, R193!

Damn, that seems like a lifetime ago. I guess it was.

The optics are terrible but the ending of Late Show was inevitable. It is too expensive to produce in an era where people do not watch it live, watch the commercials which support it and only consume the clips on social media.

The solution to this would be the “Watch What Happens Live” formula, which also produces the same kind of celebrity interviews but is probably made for 1/10th of Late Show’s cost. No band, no theatre, no studio audience.

R202 is right.

Some of y'all are just desperate to be "victims," as usual.

It's what the left does best at pretending.

They weirdly get off on "victimhood."

Enjoy your descent into fascism, boys

I never watch these shows live. I watch them in the morning with my breakfast. It helps me start the day in a good mood. And Colbert always has such interesting guests! I think now that we have all these streaming platforms, Colbert, Kimmel and Jon Stewart can always find a home on line and I sincerely hope this will not silence Colbert, but that it will increase his options. He has a following. hopefully he will land on his feet nd keep doing what he is doing. And BTW: The house band isn't that expensive because they're mostly unknown. When Jean Baptiste became famous and started winning awards, he left Colbert. In fact he did it with Colbert's support. Colbert was always highlighting his talent and they remain close friends. I know they are coming for KImmel because Kimmel is brutal with Trump and the entire administration as well as members of Congress.