Listen Now: Colbert Cancelled – Comedy Communications
It’s official, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been cancelled. While apparently, we still have until May of 2026 before the final season ends, we’ll see if anything happens in the next ten months that expedites that process.
Now allegedly, the show has been basically bleeding money, or at least that’s what CBS claims (Independent). The argument is that the show’s high production costs outweigh the revenue it brings in. While this could very well be a valid reason to cull the show, the timing is a little… odd.
You see, Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, the network that airs Colbert’s show, just settled a lawsuit with Trump for a whopping $16 million in early July (BBC). Trump was suing the network for coverage by 60-Minutes that he argued had shown bias to Kamala Harris, the Executive Producer retired as a result of the lawsuit, it was quite the mess (CBS Chicago).
But Colbert, after a two-week hiatus, returned this past Monday and blasted the deal, calling it “a big fat bribe” (The Late Show YouTube). Two days later? His show is cancelled.
Now, I’ve read the hems and haws about whether or not it was a money issue, or political, and quite frankly, I think it was probably both. Let’s put aside for a second a singular definitive Cinderella shoe as the reasoning for Colbert’s cancellation, and instead view it as a combination of many things that led to his cancellation.
Money is certainly a fair motivator, if the show was bleeding cash, the options would be to make cuts, or cut it all together.
But another key issue is that currently Paramount is attempting to undergo an $8 billion merger with Skydance. A merger which needs to be approved by the FCC. While the FCC is supposed to be independent of the federal government, the current administration has moved to bring the regulator closer under Trump’s hand via the appointment of a Republican loyalist to its helm (Associated Press). Another point is that the owners of Skydance seem to be supporters of Trump (CNN).
So given that Trump could block this merger, and that the current owners of Skydance are supporters of his, perhaps Colbert is simply collateral damage in a deal that executives would like to see pushed through. His viewership was down and he wasn’t profitable, an excellent cover up to get a deal done by earning the bonus points of getting rid of him.
“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 [Jimmy Fallon] on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.” – Donald Trump (Independent).
Trump has long called for the cancellation of various late-night hosts, calling them boring or unfunny, saying their ratings were bad, and that they should be removed off the air. Even suggesting at times, that the FCC should remove broadcasting licences for certain networks.
Even if it isn’t direct censorship, it’s pretty clear that Trump holds tremendous power, even if it’s self-censorship inflicted by networks to avoid the President’s wrath.
Comedy Communications 