I used to watch The Colbert Report on Comedy Central a long time ago. I was actually a big enough fan that I ended up buying his book "I am America (And So Can You)," because he seemed to do what many a late-night host should do, and make fun of everyone.
Back then he obviously leaned a bit to the left but was a clever satirist, loved talking Tolkien, and most importantly, he'd make me laugh from time to time. When it was announced he'd be taking over The Late Show in 2014, I was actually okay with it.
In retrospect, Colbert's ratings history tell an interesting story. When he first started in 2015, he lagged in ratings behind Jimmy Fallon as even Colbert didn't know who Colbert was. He was so used to playing a satirist that he now had to come up with a fresh persona on the fly.
Then Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and something happened to Colbert. In fact, it was the same thing that happened to a lot of people in our country. It broke him, and I don't mean it made him angry or sad. I mean, Colbert got caught up in the Trump Derangement Syndrome that so many people suffered, and it caused him to thrash around like a grown toddler... figuratively speaking.
But, he found that hating Trump in the open helped his ratings. He surged past Fallon, solidifying his choice to go full-on anti-Trump and pushing him into outrageous moments, such as the infamous "Putin's c**k holster" monologue.
And this is where Colbert really goofed. It wasn't necessarily that he was opposed to Trump, it's that he put so many eggs in that particular basket that it was all he was known for. Then, as 2020 hit and people began to get some buyer's remorse about Joe Biden, audiences began to grow cold on Colbert's show. As dissatisfaction with the administration grew, its cheerleaders began losing popularity alongside it.
Then, like many other hard-left programs on various other networks, including MSNBC and CNN, viewership cratered upon Trump's reelection as audiences tuned out. Colbert never changed his strategy as his TDS was still as powerful as ever, and what once was a promising name in entertainment has become an embittered one-note comedian that no one's laughing with anymore.
The question one has to ask is, what would Colbert have been without Donald Trump? Would he have eventually found his footing and maybe maintained a more middle-of-the-road approach? Would he have better tempered himself? We'll never know, because instead of trying to find his own voice, Colbert decided to jump onto a political trend that paid off at first, but ultimately became divisive and unpopular.
And that was never going to be sustainable. Even had Trump lost, Colbert's persona as a Democrat Party boot-licker was never going to last. The pendulum had to swing.
And it did.
As Bonchie noted, Colbert's Late Night stint will see its end soon, and I agree that Jimmy Kimmel is probably not too far behind. Kimmel will probably see a surge in viewership after Colbert's departure and people look for a lifeboat, but I can't imagine he'll maintain that audience and eventually be shown the door as well.
The thing about entertainment is that it, like the rest of the culture, goes through trends, and the TDS-suffering late-night host was one of them. Its life-span was extended far beyond any normal trend because Trump was always a threat, giving these hosts fuel to continue, but two things happened. Trump became popular again, he's doing a pretty good job, and he's doing it after America got a taste of actual Democrat incompetence and corruption.
This trend didn't just lose steam, it became an outdated model almost overnight, and very few people are going to be sad to see it go.
When asked about the golden age of late-night television, nobody says, "we're living in it." They bring up Johnny Carson or Jay Leno. My generation talks about Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson. People who were there to make you laugh, not make you hate or divide yourself. These are lasting names that people will go back and watch YouTube clips of for years to come.
Does anyone honestly remember moments from Colbert or Kimmel that aren't laced with some sort of cringe or shocking moment? I can think of one for Colbert, and it wasn't even his moment, it was Keanu Reeves'.
The trend is on life support, and it looks like networks are pulling the plug.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Let's hope that the next guy behind the desk doesn't hate half the country.
