So where’s the Colbert Canceled Thread?
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I regret that it’s the end of the Letterman Late Night legacy, but other than that? Shrug…
Some people are really taking it seriously, though.
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-reacts-cbs-canceling-stephen-colbert-1236464421/
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/politics/stephen-colbert-canceled-trump-lawmakers.html
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/stephen-colbert-cancelled-cbs-trump-paramount/
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/18/cbs-cancels-stephen-colbert-00462089
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They could always start a gofundme to produce a youtube show, and all of these sad people could watch that, and laugh, and laugh. If there's anything more soul-enriching than true laughter, it's when you force a laughing noise out of your mouth, in order to reinforce your political identity.
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It’s weird they’re pretending it’s political when the show is losing 40MM a year and late night linear TV is in hospice.
I heard one analyst say that the other two networks shows are doing badly too but no one wanted to be the first to pull the plug.
Also the show’s running until May of 2026 so that’s hardly the act of firing someone for their politics.
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But are they losing money because of the politics? Letterman was bringing in 4 times the number of viewers as Colbert and was still second fiddle to Leno. You can add Colbert’s, Kimmel’s, and Fallon’s audience’s together and it doesn’t reach Letterman or Leno’s. Hell, Conan had better ratings than these three. And while everyone is blaming streaming services and YouTube (and I am sure that’s part of it), podcasts and Netflix haven’t hurt Gutfeld…
So maybe the biggest culprit isn’t the audience., maybe it’s just how political these dweebs became?
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Gutfield’s viewer demographic is much older. Note Trump still watches linear TV. ChatGPT tells me 80-80% is 55+
@jon-nyc said in So where’s the Colbert Canceled Thread?:
Gutfield’s viewer demographic is much older. Note Trump still watches linear TV. ChatGPT tells me 80-80% is 55+
And that’s different from Leno and Carson, how? Letterman skewed a little younger…
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I think that’s the rub. Linear TV watchers are between 62 and dead. They skew conservative. There’s one (prominent) conservative on the air, and three or four libs.
@jon-nyc said in So where’s the Colbert Canceled Thread?:
I think that’s the rub. Linear TV watchers are between 62 and dead. They skew conservative. There’s one (prominent) conservative on the air, and three or four libs.
But that’s not what the numbers say anymore. 65 and older were pretty evenly split between Harris and Trump. You have a lot of 1970’s flower children in their 60s and 70s these days… it was the 45-64 group that skewed towards Trump…
My point is that these shows became too liberal and too political. Both Colbert and Kimmel have literally shed tears on air over politics. That turned away ALOT of viewers on both sides.
Know your audience.
The Brad
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@jon-nyc said in So where’s the Colbert Canceled Thread?:
I think that’s the rub. Linear TV watchers are between 62 and dead. They skew conservative. There’s one (prominent) conservative on the air, and three or four libs.
But that’s not what the numbers say anymore. 65 and older were pretty evenly split between Harris and Trump. You have a lot of 1970’s flower children in their 60s and 70s these days… it was the 45-64 group that skewed towards Trump…
My point is that these shows became too liberal and too political. Both Colbert and Kimmel have literally shed tears on air over politics. That turned away ALOT of viewers on both sides.
Know your audience.
@LuFins-Dad said in So where’s the Colbert Canceled Thread?:
My point is that these shows became too liberal and too political. Both Colbert and Kimmel have literally shed tears on air over politics. That turned away ALOT of viewers on both sides.
Can you cite shows that are neither “too liberal” nor “too political” and still her higher viewership numbers than Colbert and Kimmel?
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It would be nice if they stopped all the really partisan shite.
I don't mind political jokes at all, but I don't want to watch comedians or chat show hosts who seem to think they're on a mission from God.
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I don’t watch and have no desire to watch Gutfeld either. I used to watch Letterman often, and Leno occasionally. Loved Carson, and occasionally watched Conan. The latest crews? No thanks.
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Strongly recommend watching this conversation about loss and grief. It’s what I think of when I hear about Colbert. If you can’t want the 20 minutes, watch the 5 minutes starting at 13:00. I found his late night to be too political, and wished Conan lasted longer…he was (IMO) extremely entertaining for late night. But again, when I think of Colbert, I think of this interview:
Link to video -
Have never watched him other than clips.
Last late night tv I ever watched was the Merv Griffin Show. That Merv, I tell ya…
