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Exit Stage Colbert
I have a dark cloud over my head about the news that CBS canceled Stephen Colbert for “financial reasons,” an explanation no one is buying.Well, unless those financial reasons were the regulatory approval of the Skydance-Paramount deal.
The Wall Street Journal does its best to make a case that TV is dying. No shit, Sherlock! And that is why Late Night TV is a dying format. John Gruber calls “BS” over on DaringFireball when he writes, “It seems implausible that CBS wouldn’t first ask for budget cuts — staff reductions, a salary cut for Colbert, whatever else might possibly be running up a $120 million/year budget — before just shutting the whole thing down.”
It is a sad situation because it says a lot about us as a society. Irony, humor, and sarcasm with laughs are what makeeverything insane seem palatable.
Bob Lefsetz has said it much better than I could. I am going to miss Colbert’s take on all things on YouTube. But again, this is an opportunity for him to adopt the “sources to direct” approach and launch a video podcast and a YouTube show. I mean, he has three months to promote the hell out of himself as a media outlet. His jokes are worth a few bucks.
As for the Tiffany Network, let’s rename it the TinPot Network, which exists to sell boner pills and medications to a declining viewership.
July 20, 2025. San Francisco
2 thoughts on this post
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The exit (cancellation) appears to be past due. No profits ($40 million loss per year) for year after year. No longer humorous; not even close. He should have watch some reruns of Carson and Letterman.
late night died when cable was over, and was crucified when the pandemic and writer strikes pushed people to alternatives
can’t blame the government and the people you dislike when your business model is not profitable, not entertaining, and not of the times