75 votes

CBS to cancel ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ citing ‘financial decision’

30 comments

  1. [10]
    Drewbahr
    Link
    I'm sure it has nothing to do with him criticizing CBS for kowtowing to Trump.

    I'm sure it has nothing to do with him criticizing CBS for kowtowing to Trump.

    59 votes
    1. [4]
      kingofsnake
      Link Parent
      But stopping the show entirely? I'm hoping that vein disease gets Trump before the year is out -- well, maybe after the midterms

      But stopping the show entirely?

      I'm hoping that vein disease gets Trump before the year is out -- well, maybe after the midterms

      11 votes
      1. [3]
        Drewbahr
        Link Parent
        Yes, the powers that be would absolutely cancel a show entirely because it dared to make fun of their fuhrer.

        Yes, the powers that be would absolutely cancel a show entirely because it dared to make fun of their fuhrer.

        21 votes
        1. [2]
          kingofsnake
          Link Parent
          You'd think that they'd just re-host the show if that was the case. I guess it wasn't worth saving the house that Dave built.

          You'd think that they'd just re-host the show if that was the case.

          I guess it wasn't worth saving the house that Dave built.

          4 votes
          1. Drewbahr
            Link Parent
            I imagine they'd have a very hard time finding a Trump ideologue who has the chops, and the following, to replace Colbert. Also, I personally think the point wasn't just to fire Colbert for daring...

            I imagine they'd have a very hard time finding a Trump ideologue who has the chops, and the following, to replace Colbert.

            Also, I personally think the point wasn't just to fire Colbert for daring to criticize CBS and the Trump administration. It was to destroy something left-wing, to make a point, to set an example.

            18 votes
    2. [5]
      MetaMoss
      Link Parent
      It certainly didn't help, but how much of a future does the old late-night show formula really have?

      It certainly didn't help, but how much of a future does the old late-night show formula really have?

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        Drewbahr
        Link Parent
        Considering other late night shows are still going, it seems to be a steady earner.

        Considering other late night shows are still going, it seems to be a steady earner.

        3 votes
        1. [3]
          nukeman
          Link Parent
          I wouldn’t necessarily count on most of the other shows continuing on for long either. NBC will probably keep The Tonight Show around due to the history, but Kimmel is getting older, and several...

          I wouldn’t necessarily count on most of the other shows continuing on for long either. NBC will probably keep The Tonight Show around due to the history, but Kimmel is getting older, and several of the shows have lost their accompanying bands.

          7 votes
          1. [2]
            cloud_loud
            Link Parent
            I think after Fallon and Meyers retire they’re just going to stop both the Tonight Show and Late Night. Considering The Late Show is also a legacy brand and CBS clearly didnt have a problem...

            I think after Fallon and Meyers retire they’re just going to stop both the Tonight Show and Late Night. Considering The Late Show is also a legacy brand and CBS clearly didnt have a problem discontinuing it just like how they also got rid of The Late Late Show after Corden quit.

            5 votes
            1. nukeman
              Link Parent
              One has a greater legacy than the other. Late Night goes back to 1993. Tonight Show goes back to 1954, i.e., it’s old enough to be someone’s grandparent (as a reference point, my grandfather...

              One has a greater legacy than the other. Late Night goes back to 1993. Tonight Show goes back to 1954, i.e., it’s old enough to be someone’s grandparent (as a reference point, my grandfather would’ve been 24, and my grandmother 18 when it debuted).

              3 votes
  2. lou
    Link
    I'm okay with it. Largely because I like the idea of Colbert doing comedy again.

    I'm okay with it. Largely because I like the idea of Colbert doing comedy again.

    38 votes
  3. Omnicrola
    Link
    I love Stephen, and I hope this leads to something else that he enjoys and can express himself outside the late night show format. I use to watch the clips on YT from the previous night...

    I love Stephen, and I hope this leads to something else that he enjoys and can express himself outside the late night show format. I use to watch the clips on YT from the previous night religiously. After the election, I couldn't enjoy it anymore. The show had long since became a constant parade of everything Trump said or did and how insane and ridiculous it was. Which is fine, someone needs to keep pointing out that the emperor has no clothes! But for my own mental health I stopped watching him entirely. And Seth Meyers too, whom I also really enjoy.

    33 votes
  4. [12]
    stu2b50
    Link
    Not surprised. The idea of late night shows doesn’t really make sense anymore. At this point they exist just for the existing, but aging out, viewer base from yesteryear + farming clips to go on...

    Not surprised. The idea of late night shows doesn’t really make sense anymore. At this point they exist just for the existing, but aging out, viewer base from yesteryear + farming clips to go on YouTube and TikTok.

    29 votes
    1. [11]
      cloud_loud
      Link Parent
      One thing I noticed after the strikes: Late Night shows declined so heavily on Youtube views. They used to get an easy 1M per video but now average maybe 100k. Most of their views come from TikTok...

      One thing I noticed after the strikes: Late Night shows declined so heavily on Youtube views. They used to get an easy 1M per video but now average maybe 100k. Most of their views come from TikTok now, and it's always just a piece of the interview and rarely do you know what's being advertised. Stuff like Hot Ones and Vanity Fair's Lie Detector test have effectively replaced talk shows.

      20 votes
      1. [8]
        jmpavlec
        Link Parent
        Which videos are you referring to? The main monologues are still getting 800k+ nearly every day. The past 4 days of Colbert: 906k and climbing (newest one) 2.1 mill 1.5 mill 2.2 mill Similar story...

        Which videos are you referring to? The main monologues are still getting 800k+ nearly every day.

        The past 4 days of Colbert:
        906k and climbing (newest one)
        2.1 mill
        1.5 mill
        2.2 mill

        Similar story for Seth Meyers...

        So which videos? I'd say they are as popular as ever.

        14 votes
        1. [3]
          cloud_loud
          Link Parent
          Compare the monologues Colbert was doing 8 or so years ago during trumps first terms. They’re like at 5M+ each with some reaching 10M. But the videos I was referring to were the interviews, which...

          Compare the monologues Colbert was doing 8 or so years ago during trumps first terms. They’re like at 5M+ each with some reaching 10M. But the videos I was referring to were the interviews, which are and have always been the main part of late night talk shows.

          Jimmy Fallon used to get pushed heavily by the YouTube algorithm so his interviews got million+. But once the strikes happened and uploads slowed to a crawl the algorithm kicked him out leaving him to low numbers.

          6 votes
          1. [2]
            jmpavlec
            Link Parent
            Interesting, I almost never watch the interviews unless it is someone I like but I always watch the monologue... I assumed that was the case for everyone (just given the views for the monologues...

            Interesting, I almost never watch the interviews unless it is someone I like but I always watch the monologue... I assumed that was the case for everyone (just given the views for the monologues are 5-10x the interviews)

            4 votes
            1. cloud_loud
              Link Parent
              I think even when it wasn’t someone that was well known it would at least approach a million views but now even if it’s a big star it struggles to hit a million

              I think even when it wasn’t someone that was well known it would at least approach a million views but now even if it’s a big star it struggles to hit a million

              1 vote
        2. [5]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. [3]
            AugustusFerdinand
            Link Parent
            John Oliver: 7.6M, 16M, 5M, 6.2M, 5.7M, 4.9M, 6.1M, 3.3M, 13M, 11M, 8M, 3.6M, 10M, 6.8M, 2.8M, 2.5M, 5.4M, 6.7M What's this about the "declined so heavily" @cloud_loud?

            John Oliver:

            7.6M, 16M, 5M, 6.2M, 5.7M, 4.9M, 6.1M, 3.3M, 13M, 11M, 8M, 3.6M, 10M, 6.8M, 2.8M, 2.5M, 5.4M, 6.7M

            What's this about the "declined so heavily" @cloud_loud?

            9 votes
            1. cloud_loud
              Link Parent
              I don’t really think John Oliver counts. It’s an HBO show and really more of a news show with a comedic bent. I don’t even really recall him doing interviews the way The Daily Show did (which I...

              I don’t really think John Oliver counts. It’s an HBO show and really more of a news show with a comedic bent. I don’t even really recall him doing interviews the way The Daily Show did (which I also don’t really count towards late night talk show).

              6 votes
            2. AnthonyB
              Link Parent
              John Oliver's show is a completely different format that goes up once a week.

              John Oliver's show is a completely different format that goes up once a week.

              4 votes
          2. jmpavlec
            Link Parent
            Well I don't have the exact numbers before the cancellation. I suppose the ones from 2-3 days ago (that aired/were posted before it was cancelled) could be inflated a bit. If you look at 3 weeks...

            Well I don't have the exact numbers before the cancellation. I suppose the ones from 2-3 days ago (that aired/were posted before it was cancelled) could be inflated a bit. If you look at 3 weeks ago before their break, they are all 2 million+.

            1 vote
      2. [2]
        BeanBurrito
        Link Parent
        I long ago stopped watching late night shows. I can see just the funny parts, minus the dull parts, on YouTube, at a more convenient time and go to bed early.

        I long ago stopped watching late night shows.

        I can see just the funny parts, minus the dull parts, on YouTube, at a more convenient time and go to bed early.

        5 votes
        1. chocobean
          Link Parent
          I almost never watch the interviews, so it's just recurring silly segments and monologue for me.

          I almost never watch the interviews, so it's just recurring silly segments and monologue for me.

  5. [5]
    post_below
    Link
    I pray to the sweet baby jesus that he brings back the Colbert Report

    I pray to the sweet baby jesus that he brings back the Colbert Report

    14 votes
    1. [3]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. moonwalker
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        There's some reporting on its previous lack of success on this front. I think it's very difficult to get "right" and seems to have inherent trade offs between reach and the amount of critique

        There's some reporting on its previous lack of success on this front. I think it's very difficult to get "right" and seems to have inherient trade offs between reach and the amount of critique

        6 votes
      2. AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        Then one of two things would happen: More viewership because more conservative idiots watch. Same viewership because the people that know the definition of satire would still watch.

        Then one of two things would happen:

        1. More viewership because more conservative idiots watch.
        2. Same viewership because the people that know the definition of satire would still watch.
        4 votes
    2. jredd23
      Link Parent
      I wonder if baby jesus has more powers than adult jesus? Just thinking...

      I wonder if baby jesus has more powers than adult jesus? Just thinking...

      4 votes
    3. MetaMoss
      Link Parent
      I'd be really curious to see how he would evolve the formula for today's environment. There's so much more to work with, which gives ample opportunity for some great satire if they play it right.

      I'd be really curious to see how he would evolve the formula for today's environment. There's so much more to work with, which gives ample opportunity for some great satire if they play it right.

      3 votes
  6. Jerutix
    Link
    Trump settlement money had to come from somewhere, I suppose.

    Trump settlement money had to come from somewhere, I suppose.

    6 votes