Stephen Colbert’s iconic introduction — “From the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, it’s Stephen Colbert!” — will be heard one final time tonight as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert comes to an end after 11 seasons.
Since taking over the desk from David Letterman in 2015, Colbert built a reputation for blending sharp political satire with celebrity interviews and opening monologues that often reflected the mood of the country. His background in improv and his years on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report helped shape a style that many viewers saw as both entertaining and socially relevant.
Last July, Colbert revealed that CBS had decided to cancel the show once his contract ends. Paramount and CBS executives insisted the decision was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and had nothing to do with the show’s ratings or editorial direction.
Still, the timing raised questions. The announcement arrived only two days after Colbert criticized Paramount Global — CBS’s parent company — for settling a lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump involving a 60 Minutes report.
According to Eric Deggans, NPR’s critic at large, Colbert’s departure leaves a major gap in late-night television. He praised Colbert as one of the few performers capable of “holding up a mirror to American society and the political establishment and the media establishment.”
“That the show has to end not on Stephen Colbert’s terms but because of a business deal is, you know, ultimately really disappointing,” Deggans said.
Deggans also pointed to what he sees as a broader pattern of efforts by the Trump administration to pressure or weaken critics, especially comedians and satirists. He noted that ABC temporarily removed Jimmy Kimmel’s show from the air after backlash over comments Kimmel made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. More recently, Trump suggested ABC should fire Kimmel after the host joked about Melania Trump being an “expectant widow.”
“The truth is that pop culture and satire in particular are a great way of distilling really effective criticisms of politicians,” Deggans said.
“That’s why so many politicians are so uncomfortable with really good satirists.”
When announcing the cancellation, Colbert made it clear that the show itself would not continue in another form.
“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” he said.
CBS will instead hand over the 11:35 p.m. slot to Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, a move that signals a very different direction for late-night programming. Deggans believes the switch could push viewers toward competitors like Jimmy Kimmel or Jimmy Fallon rather than away from late night entirely.
At the same time, media experts say the genre is facing a larger transformation. As audiences continue shifting from traditional television to streaming and social media, fewer people are watching full late-night broadcasts. Instead, many consume clips and highlights on platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
Podcasting has also become a major competitor, especially for celebrity interviews that once defined late-night television. Programs such as Amy Poehler’s Good Hang have found success in the podcast world, while late-night hosts themselves have embraced the format. During the 2023 writers’ strike, Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver launched the podcast Strike Force Five together.
Some experts believe late-night television may actually be well suited for the digital era. Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University, argues that the format was practically designed for social media long before apps like TikTok existed.
Late night, he says, “was a genre designed for TikTok decades and decades before TikTok even existed. Completely modular, you can chop it up.”
Because late-night shows rely on short sketches, interviews and monologues, their content naturally works as bite-sized clips online. Sophia A. McClennen of Penn State University says this shift is already happening, with most audiences now watching segments on their phones the following day rather than tuning in live.
“We’re already seeing it morphing,” she said. “The majority of people do not watch television when it’s broadcast. They just don’t — that habit [has] changed.”
Colbert’s online reach reflects that reality, with millions of followers across TikTok and YouTube. Yet Deggans warns that relying on social media creates financial challenges because platforms like YouTube often take the largest share of advertising revenue.
“I think these shows are going to have to figure out new sources of revenue or new ways of reaching viewers beyond just taking their content and throwing it on YouTube and letting Google make most of that money,” he said.
Producing a late-night show also remains expensive. McClennen noted that maintaining studios, staff and live audiences comes with significant costs, making profitability increasingly difficult in today’s media landscape.
Even so, experts believe the core role of late-night television — especially its ability to mix comedy with political and cultural commentary — will continue in some form.
“The messages that are being delivered and the comic style that late night television has been so expert at putting together … I don’t think that’s going to go away,” Thompson said. “I think it’s just going to have to find a new delivery system.”
As audiences prepare for Colbert’s final broadcast, Thompson says the loss goes beyond entertainment.
“We’re not just gonna be losing an amusing way to end the evening,” he said. “These programs have become, since the turn of the century, an important part of the civic health of this nation.”
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
