It's the end of an era over at CBS after the network announced on Thursday that Stephen Colbert, one of the most insufferable left-wing "comedians" on the planet, is being canceled. Once the current season ends, "The Late Show," which Colbert has hosted since 2015, will be no more.
In an attempt to soften the blow, CBS executives are leaning on corporate speak to explain the move, but I think we can speculate on why this really happened.
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“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise’ in May of 2026,” CBS executives’ statement read. “We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”
“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,” the announcement concluded.
From what I can gather, the show actually had decent ratings, only being bested by Fox News' Greg Gutfeld in the late-night comedy genre. But ratings in a vacuum don't always lead to financial stability. Colbert was being paid a ton of money to host a show in one of the most expensive areas in the country, and the production costs were likely nothing to sneeze at. Is two and a half million viewers an episode, which is what Colbert has been averaging lately, good for some television shows? Sure, but is it good for an expensive show with an overpaid host in a time slot that is becoming less and less profitable for broadcast networks? Maybe not.
I mean, does any of this strike you as deeply valuable content?
Colbert is cancelled. Good riddance.
— Jen X🗽 (@jenreneeX) July 17, 2025
This was the most cringe moment on his show. pic.twitter.com/1etdnBm4gi
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been canceled. pic.twitter.com/beaDgq0bcR
— 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝕏 (@normposter) July 17, 2025
But was this just about ratings or something else? Colbert has been a favorite destination for left-wing politicians and officials for years, to the point of absurdity, and the "jokes" are rarely actually jokes. Instead, you get what Ben Shapiro has previously dubbed as "clapter." In other words, Colbert tells a "joke" about how Donald Trump is like Hitler, and then the left-wing audience claps as if they'd just heard the greatest comedic utterance in history. Meanwhile, normal people are left sitting at home waiting for the punchline.
Perhaps the funniest part of this development, though, was Sen. Adam Schiff's response (D-CA). Apparently, he had just finished filming with Colbert (because, of course) when the news dropped.
Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) July 17, 2025
If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.
Is he calling for a congressional investigation into this or something? And since when can a privately owned broadcast network not make a decision based on politics? Heck, if that were the standard, CBS, NBC, and ABC would have long been shuttered for corruption, given their biases against conservatives. If the network decided they were sick of funding a boring far-left hour of "clapter," so what?
Naturally, Schiff seems to miss how his inclusion in the plot is a big reason why the show had become so bad.
I’m sorry, but I think the Late Show regularly having people like Schiff on is part of the reason late night is dead (among many other reasons)
— Alicia Smith (@Alicia_Smith19) July 17, 2025
Shows like Colbert became group therapy hour mixed with an intermittent pep rally. Comedy completely written out. https://t.co/SVEsJlVQDF
And just in case you're wondering if this was a trend, Colbert interviewed former public health official Dr. Francis Collins the day before.
Laughter. Comedy.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 17, 2025
Imagine standing outside and waiting six hours to get into Stephen Colbert and then the person you get to see is a disgraced public health official. https://t.co/RJORhcfm5k
Collins was part of the cover-up, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci, within the NIH to protect China during the COVID-19 pandemic. So yeah, that's the quality of "guest" Colbert was working with on any given night. The show had become a parody of itself, and so far removed from the largely non-partisan presentation that late-night shows used to have decades ago, when the genre was at its peak.
Where does Colbert go from here? Perhaps he'll do what every other canned left-wing personality has done lately and start a podcast, or maybe MSNBC scoops him up to try to compete with Gutfeld. Whatever happens, credit to CBS for ignoring the rage mob and doing something the other broadcast networks are too scared to do with their failing late-night shows.
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