The curtain is finally falling on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” marking both an end and a long-awaited new beginning for American television. CBS announced last Thursday that the whole Late Show franchise will conclude in May of the next year, pulling the plug on what has become an over-the-top platform for left-wing politics rather than late-night humor. The news has left the left in a state of high dudgeon, with Democratic politicians and liberal media figures reacting with an almost comedic level of outrage. Just another day in the land where the cancellation of a talk show is mourned like a national tragedy.
Colbert earned a reputation not for his comedic genius, but for being the unapologetic mouthpiece of partisan politics disguised as entertainment. In an era where comedians like David Letterman and Jay Leno focused on big personalities and celebrities, Colbert turned his desk into a fluffy interview spot for Democratic politicians. Have we really come so far from the days of top film stars that sitting senators and Congress members pass for prime-time entertainment? Apparently so, in a world where Elizabeth Warren gracing a late-night stage multiple times is supposed to entice viewers—except it didn’t.
Now, some defenders might hastily attribute his show’s cancellation to bias against his blatant criticisms of Trump. This theory holds as much water as a sieve. Remember, CBS is letting Colbert stay on air for almost another year. If they wanted him silenced, they’d swing the ax immediately, not hand him another year’s worth of airtime. No, the issue is far simpler and surely more painful for the Colbert team to accept: the show just costs too much and delivers too little. How does one even pour $100 million annually into a program centered on people sitting and talking? Unless the plan was to fund a gold-plated joke writer’s room, it seems someone’s budgeting got seriously out of hand.
Beyond the bloated budget, there’s the undeniable fact that people simply aren’t watching. Ratings are the lifeline of late-night TV, and it appears Colbert left almost half the country behind with his partisan humorless approach. Playing up one side relentlessly while neglecting a whole viewer demographic never seemed a successful recipe for lasting engagement.
Indeed, it seems the show’s creative wells ran dry long before CBS decided to cut off the funding. What was once a prestigious spot in American culture became a stale repetition of the same old narratives. Gone was the universally appealing wit, replaced by an exclusive club of political insiders and Washington elites who were saving the world with their appearances. As the final episode approaches, perhaps it’s time to reflect on the true meaning of appealing entertainment and the lessons learned from a stage that became more of a soapbox than a source of laughter.
In a world where everyone is grappling for their five minutes of fame and influence, Stephen Colbert’s departure should be less of a shock and more of an eye-opener. The landscape of comedy is evolving, yet the undeniable truth remains: being entertaining and genuinely amusing retains its magnetic pull, transcending political divides and rallying all viewers to partake in the shared human experience of laughter. Let’s look forward to a brighter, funnier future beyond the dark shadow cast by partisan politics.
