Stephen Colbert’s character on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report was funny and interesting. The real-life Stephen Colbert, or whatever iteration of Colbert it is on CBS’s The Late Show, is neither. And more than anything, that’s why his show is now canceled.
The very corny narrative that the dying news media like to tell is that CBS’s parent company canned Colbert, whose last show airs Thursday night, in deference to President Trump and as a way to secure a business merger that the network’s parent company needed approval from the administration for. CNN actress Jake Tapper literally hosted an entire documentary pushing that line. (How humiliating that Colbert’s tenure as the star of what used to be a revered institution is so unremarkable that the best it earned him was an online CNN special featuring … Jake Tapper.)
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Trump had something to do with Colbert being kicked to the curb by the network’s executives, but if he did, it was for the sole purpose of humoring himself. As host of The Late Show, Colbert was never a political factor, even as he tried his damndest. Though Colbert routinely, predictably mocked the president and used his show to push political causes — he recently manufactured a controversy to hype up the abnormal and highly unnerving Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico — but I’d dare anyone to recall anything that had an effect. Or even just to recall anything at all.
Off the top of my head, Colbert’s most memorable current events-related segment was a line dance he did in 2021 with people wearing costumes meant to look like syringes. To the tune of The Champs’ “Tequila,” Colbert shouted “vaccine!” as he did an Austin Powers-esque dance through the audience. The second-hand embarrassment felt by viewers can’t be overstated.
Colbert was simply not worth saving because he wasn’t worth what he was costing his employer, which was apparently a loss of $40 million per year. Trust me, if the show had been losing that much but Colbert was influencing politics, CBS would have eaten the cost. That’s a business calculus made in the media all the time. It’s why News Corp keeps publishing the New York Post despite annual losses estimated to be as high as $30 million. It’s why Brian Stelter, dishonest and homely as ever, remains employed at CNN. It’s why Rachel Maddow can rate below the Hallmark channel and reruns of The Twilight Zone, but MS NOW keeps her on air and pays millions to do it.
Colbert is a non-factor, not funny, and most important, not interesting. His competitor at ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, isn’t particularly funny or interesting either, but at least he cries on occasion or makes a remark so distasteful that it gets him thrown off the air for a period of time. There’s at least some sense of dynamics there. Colbert is just an aging has-been performing skits more suitable for a suburban nursing home.
Bill Maher is a left-wing comedian who is both funny and interesting. Trump attacks him all the time, and HBO has shown no interest in taking Maher off the air. It’s because he’s worth it. Colbert isn’t worth it.
Jake Tapper will miss him. There’s always that.
