I can't say I have ever watched Stephen Colbert.
I can say I sort of enjoyed him on The Daily Show, back when The Daily Show was still somewhat enjoyable, which dates me and anyone else who can say the same.
I caught a few episodes of The Colbert Report, his vehicle that followed TDS for a while. I like a good spoof of Bill O'Reilly as much as the next guy - like, once or twice. The joke got old long before the show left cable.
Before that? I remember him from an episode of Law and Order. He was the killer (spoiler: the character he played was Christian and conservative).
Beyond that? I'd be lying if I said I'd caught more than two contiguous minutes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and even that happened maybe 2-3 times, ever Part of it's being a morning person - I also didn't catch much of the last decade of Letterman or Leno; Craig Ferguson was a rare splurg of sleep time for me, and I'm afraid to look up how long he's been off the air.
So my personal attitude about Colbert's exit, and the extinction of the show he ran into the ground, is a matter of principle rather than specifics.
But oh, good Lord, he seems to be going out with such a splatter.
The final date, cloaked in mystery since CBS and the "late night star" first announced the euthanization, is finally official:
🔥Stephen Colbert has been CANCELLED citing financial decisions.
— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) July 17, 2025
LAST SHOW will be in May of 2026. Remember when we told you MSM MOCKINGBIRD propaganda media is dead and without government assistance paying their checks and for ads under the table they would go… pic.twitter.com/OZ7crDY25o
CBS will pull the curtain on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on May 21. Colbert shared his final day on the show during his Jan. 27 appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," which was taped the prior day...The end date reveal comes six months after Colbert revealed in a shock July 14 announcement that parent company Paramount Global decided to cancel the show after more than three decades.
"We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire 'The Late Show' franchise at that time," the company's statement said. "We are proud that Stephen called CBS home."
The move was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," the statement added. "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
It may have been purely financial last summer. But the ratings, especially in the 25-54 age bracket on which most broadcasting stands or falls, have shriveled to fit the show's prognosis
According to Nielsen data reported this week, Colbert’s show is averaging roughly 285,000 viewers in the crucial 25–54 demographic, putting it on track for its worst January performance ever in the category that advertisers actually care about. With just months left before the curtain closes for good, the ratings trajectory suggests viewers have been checking out long before CBS formally pulled the plug...CBS previously framed the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a financial decision rather than a creative one. The January Colbert ratings collapse makes clear that those financial pressures are themselves a direct result of audience rejection. As viewership — particularly in the key 25–54 demographic — continues to erode, the show becomes increasingly difficult to justify economically, turning declining interest into an unavoidable business problem.
Now, not only do I have a background in old-school broadcasting, I have (cough cough) about four decades of background the the larger franchise that Colbert destroyed: back in college, and the early years of my adult life, David Letterman during his NBC incarnation was pretty much appointment TV at the end of a long day - and while the CBS version of Letterman was nowhere near as fun, it is a little like seeing that, while your old college hangout bar was bought out by a holding company and the original owners had nothing to do with its closure, the new guys still shut it down.
And I'm not the only one:
When Colbert took over The Late Show from David Letterman, he inherited a powerhouse franchise with decades of goodwill and a loyal audience. For a time, the transition appeared successful. Those days now feel distant.
That's putting it mildly.
Anyway - it's three months to the final. broadcast. I'll celebrate by not watching it extra hard.
