By Phil Baker
Tonight, Stephen Colbert takes his final bow at The Late Show, and CBS is turning out the lights on its late-night legacy for good. Instead of replacing him, the network is retiring the franchise completely, handing the 11:35 p.m. slot over to cheaper, syndicated stand-up panels.
CBS blames the bottom line, citing a $40 million annual deficit and a changing TV landscape. But the math doesn’t quite add up. Colbert leaves as the undisputed king of late night, having held the number one spot in the ratings for nine consecutive seasons.
It is impossible to separate his departure from recent political turbulence. The decision to ax the show followed Paramount Global’s massive settlement with the Trump administration over a 60 Minutes dispute—a payout Colbert openly mocked while Paramount’s merger with Skydance awaited government approval.
Whether driven by corporate cowardice or financial strain, the result is a chilling milestone. For over a decade, Colbert served as a vital sanity check against political absurdity, particularly in his mocking of Trump. Tonight, a corporation accomplished what the rival networks never could: it silenced broadcast television’s sharpest critic, leaving us with a big loss.