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When CBS announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would not return after the current season, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone paying attention to the show’s declining performance. Still, the reaction from many progressives was swift and emotional, declaring it a political purge, an act of censorship, or a reward to Donald Trump from a cowed media conglomerate. The reality, however, is far less dramatic — and far more revealing. This wasn’t a political hit job; it was a textbook business decision. And one long in the making.
The Dollars and (Non)Sense of Late Night
Television, particularly network television, is a business — and an expensive one at that. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert reportedly cost CBS roughly $100 million a year to produce. This included Colbert’s eight-figure salary, a large staff of writers, producers, technicians, and musicians, and the costly upkeep of the show’s real estate in the Ed Sullivan Theater in Midtown Manhattan.
But the returns on that investment were shrinking — rapidly. The show was operating with a reported $40 million annual deficit. Colbert wasn’t just underperforming; he was costing the network more than he brought in. While a dedicated viewer base remained, the numbers were not just insufficient — they were aging out. When Colbert took over in 2015, the average viewer was 60. Now, that number has risen to 68. In a media ecosystem increasingly driven by youth, streaming, and social media virality, that’s a demographic dead end.
Contrast that with the business environment when The Late Show first launched under David Letterman in 1993. Back then, network late night was a competitive and lucrative time slot. Advertisers paid top dollar to reach millions of viewers winding down their day. Now, ad revenue is fractured across thousands of platforms, and audiences are more likely to get their laughs from TikTok than a monologue taped eight hours earlier.
The writing was on the wall.
Comedy or Commentary? Colbert’s Evolving (and Narrowing) Brand
Stephen Colbert entered the late-night scene with sky-high expectations. He was fresh off The Colbert Report, a satirical masterclass where he portrayed a pompous conservative pundit. But when he stepped into Letterman’s shoes, he didn’t carry that same persona. Instead, viewers got the “real” Stephen Colbert — and many didn’t connect with that version.
The show quickly transformed from a mix of satire and absurdity into a nightly political sermon. Much of the humor became one-note: Trump-bashing, Republican-roasting, and progressive reinforcement. There’s a market for that — but it’s a niche one, and not big enough to sustain a big-budget network program.
Colbert may have had his viral moments and built a loyal liberal fan base, but he also pushed away the apolitical, moderate, or conservative-leaning viewers who once tuned into late night for escapism and comic relief. Instead of widening the tent, the show doubled down on ideology.
Consider the infamous Late Show episode at Radio City Music Hall where Colbert helped raise $26 million for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. It was a campaign event masquerading as entertainment. Moments like this alienated vast swaths of the public and confirmed what many critics were already saying: The Late Show had become more interested in activism than amusement.
The Broader Decline of Late-Night Television
Colbert’s cancellation isn’t just about his show — it’s part of a broader industry collapse. The late-night landscape, once dominated by legends like Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Jay Leno, is now a graveyard of declining relevance.
In the last five years, ratings across all major late-night shows have dropped by 30% or more. Ad dollars have followed suit. Even once-successful hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have struggled to adapt to the changing media terrain. Viewers are abandoning the format, and for good reason: late-night comedy has largely stopped being funny.
What was once a genre built on unpredictability, wit, and absurdity has become formulaic and partisan. The traditional late-night formula hasn’t evolved — but the audience has. People want bite-sized, instantly shareable content. They want authenticity, not canned applause and punchlines delivered to an in-studio crowd of tourists.
The networks know this. That’s why CBS isn’t replacing Colbert with another host. It’s not bringing back a reboot. It’s ending The Late Show altogether. This isn’t a pause — it’s a death knell.
The Progressive Backlash: Conspiracies Over Common Sense
Despite all the financial and cultural indicators, many progressives rushed to find a sinister motive. Some blamed Trump. Others pointed fingers at CBS’s parent company, Paramount, which had recently settled a lawsuit involving the former president. The timing, they argue, is too suspicious to be a coincidence.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quickly took to social media to speculate about censorship. Senator Chris Murphy called it a "censorship state." Even veteran media analysts like Bill Carter and Puck’s Matthew Belloni — both of whom acknowledged the financial rationale — hinted darkly at political motives.
But none of these critics presented evidence. Just innuendo. Just the assumption that no liberal could ever fail on merit — it must be sabotage.
That instinct to see failure as victimhood is not only intellectually dishonest — it’s deeply counterproductive. It prevents honest reflection and improvement. Colbert wasn’t canceled because he criticized Trump. He was canceled because his product didn’t work anymore.
Cultural Blind Spots: Speaking Only to the Choir
One of the central ironies of Colbert’s downfall is that it was entirely avoidable. Had the show been willing to evolve, challenge its own assumptions, and broaden its reach, it might still be viable. But it chose a path of ideological insularity.
It’s hard to build a mass audience when you regularly treat half the country like a punchline. It’s even harder when your jokes are predictable and your targets are always the same. The Daily Show under Jon Stewart worked because it skewered everyone — including Democrats. It had bite, edge, and surprise. By contrast, Colbert’s Late Show became safe for some, alienating to many, and ultimately irrelevant to most.
That’s not a political critique — it’s a marketing one. In entertainment, especially mainstream broadcast, you either adapt or die. Colbert’s team chose not to adapt.
Looking Ahead: What Comes Next?
With The Late Show gone, CBS and the rest of the television industry face a crossroads. The old late-night model — daily shows, studio audiences, monologue-guest-musical act format — is probably not coming back. If it does, it won’t be in its current form.
We may see networks experiment with weekly shows, online-first formats, or collaborations with creators who have grown up entirely outside the legacy system. The next great comedy voice might be on YouTube, TikTok, or podcasting — not in a studio at 11:35 p.m.
And that’s okay. The end of The Late Show is not the end of comedy. It’s not the end of political satire. It’s just the end of one very expensive, outdated model.
Final Thought: Truth Over Comfort
It’s tempting to believe that failures are the result of external forces — censorship, politics, shadowy influence. But more often than not, the simplest explanation is the right one.
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