Staff Reports
CBS’s recent decision to pull the plug on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is sending shockwaves through the industry, but for many, the writing was on the wall. The network maintains that the move was purely a financial decision, citing the broader decline in late-night ratings and shrinking ad revenues, but it’s impossible to ignore the central role Colbert chose to play in America’s political divide. Those who remember the legends of late-night icons like Johnny Carson and Jay Leno know the strength of keeping comedy free from partisan rancor. Colbert abandoned that legacy and, in the end, appears to have paid the price.
For nearly a decade, Colbert steered his version of “The Late Show” into relentlessly partisan waters, serving up nightly monologues aimed almost exclusively at one side of the political aisle. While the show enjoyed solid ratings for a time, viewers began to tune out as the humor gave way to didactic lectures and recycled talking points. Jay Leno, himself a master of the late-night format, recently reminded the public that skewering only one half of the country is no way to win over a broad audience. “Why not try to get the whole [audience]?” Leno asked, expressing confusion over the modern trend of alienating millions for the sake of political points.
The aftermath of Colbert’s cancellation showcased just how diminished his support had become. A feeble rally outside CBS headquarters barely reached two dozen masked attendees, a far cry from the kind of broad-based affection that once buoyed late-night legends through thick and thin. Some supporters decried the decision as an attack on free speech, but networks, unlike many in government, still answer to the bottom line. If a show bleeds viewers and advertisers, no amount of wokeness or viral clips can save it.
Colbert’s defenders claim politics wasn’t the real reason, pointing to CBS’s statements and Colbert’s spikes in ratings post-announcement. But lost in the debate is a larger truth: Americans are tired of having every single platform weaponized for political warfare. Meanwhile, programs like Fox’s “Gutfeld!”—which often lampoons the excesses of the left but isn’t afraid to poke fun across the spectrum—continue to gain viewership. There’s a clear hunger for lighter, more inclusive comedy that’s not filtered through the lens of D.C.
The Colbert era is a cautionary tale for future late-night hosts: comedy should unite, not divide. Networks and creators should take Leno’s advice to heart—“just be funny.” The best late-night television lifts spirits and brings Americans together at the end of a long day, not reminds them what divides us. The closer today’s hosts come to that original formula, the brighter the future looks for truly entertaining television.
