Progressives Meltdown Over Cancellation of ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an unfunnier person on television — in what’s supposed to be a comedy show — than Stephen Colbert. I thought he was lame on “The Daily Show” and subsequent “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central (which, admittedly, I only caught snippets of here and there because both overall were — are — bad), and just laughed when he was tapped to take over a Big Three Network (CBS) late night spot in ten years ago.

Colbert, along with peers Jimmy Kimmel (ABC) and Jimmy Fallon (NBC), quickly turned what were supposed to be comedy talk shows into propaganda arms of the Democratic National Committee. Of the three, Fallon is by far the funniest (at least his bits are) and the least political; ironically, however, he has the lowest ratings of the three (Colbert has the highest).

⬆️ That was definitely one of the worst and most cringeworthy moments in television history…
The “Vax Scene,” complete with dancing syringes, may be a close second! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Oo9iUYrIVy

— Suzanne 🇺🇸♥️ (@snoopsmom123) July 22, 2025

As you’re likely aware, Colbert announced this past week that his show will end — but not until almost a year from now. CBS says the move is purely a financial decision: “The Late Show” was losing $40 million per year … all the while the host was pocketing between $15-20 million annually, had over 100 staffers, and the show cost $130 million to produce.

Nevertheless, Colbert’s cancellation sent progressives everywhere into paroxysms of self-righteous indignation.

A sub-headline of an MSNBC Jacques Berlinerblau article reads CBS’s decision “threatens to push or shunt critical political comedy off the airwaves.” Berlinerblau insinuated the network canned Colbert after he made a “joke” about CBS’s settlement with Donald Trump over “60 Minutes'” edited Kamala Harris interview during last year’s campaign (a “big fat bribe,” Colbert called it).

He noted Colbert “was quicker than most comedians to recognize the unique threats to liberal democracy presented by Trump.”  Berlinerblau added “It could also be argued that Trump and the MAGA movement recognized the unique threats to their legitimacy and cultural hegemony presented by comedic critics who broadcast to massive audiences.”

How many viewers Colbert will have by the time he goes off the air?

All of which is to say that would-be authoritarians have a clear playbook for dealing with those who mock them: 1) find a popular comedian with broad reach who lambastes you with especial venom and intelligence, 2) realize that most comedians are insanely brave (and, from the point of view of their physical safety, quite stupid) and can’t be cowed into censoring themselves, 3) sue their bosses and/or threaten them with loss of markets, licenses, broadcast rights, etc., 4) remove the critical political comedian from the platform, potentially replacing them with entertainers who are friendlier to the regime.

Of course, Berlinerblau is a university professor.

The Hollywood Reporter said the Colbert news was a “shocker,” and will end the show’s “historic”(!!!) run. Fellow late-night “comedian” John Oliver called the cancellation “terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy,” while Jon Stewart — despite having zero evidence he, too, was on the chopping block — worried about his show’s future. An unnamed CBS staffer viewed the cancellation as “a chilling of free speech” and said “the timing seems to send a strong message that this is cause and effect for what he said about the [“60 Minutes”] settlement.”

But while these ultimately are just opinions, some want actual political action taken. The Writers Guild of America called on New York State Attorney General Letitia James (yes, that Letitia James) to investigate “potential wrongdoing” by Paramount (CBS’s parent company). Hilariously, the Guild claimed “The Late Show” was “profitable.”

HOW … can CBS take Colbert off the air?

Senator Elizabeth Warren (above), who appeared on Colbert’s show 16 times (16!!!) said the cancellation “looked like bribery” and that the country “deserved to know if [the] show was cancelled for political reasons.” Senator Adam Schiff, who also was a Colbert guest several times, pondered the same. 

The Democrat’s reaction to CBS/Paramount cancelling the worst late night show in the history of TV is proof that Stephen Colbert was a left wing operative. Now they only Jimmy Kimmel left to peddle their propaganda to insomnolent Boomers. pic.twitter.com/0HpAO7o08o

— Storm (@stormrobinson) July 18, 2025

It’s little surprise that these (and other) political idiots are ticked that Colbert is leaving; Colbert arguably is the primary culprit behind turning late night comedy shows into far-left echo chambers … and now his chamber will be vacant. Other frequent guests included socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, CNN’s Jake Tapper, and CBS’s Gayle King. If Colbert and his two Big Three peers insisted on preaching liberal/Democratic gospel in lieu of actual jokes, is it any surprise Fox News Channel’s Greg Gutfeld has outperformed all three in the ratings for some time now? If you purposely (and stupidly) exclude half the country, someone will take advantage — and Gutfeld has. (Note: Gutfeld’s better ratings performance compared to the Big Three hosts is not a totally fair comparison; Gutfeld currently airs at 10pm while Colbert, et. al. air at 11:30.)

That Colbert — his jokes are about as funny as a eunuch’s underwear!

It’ll never happen in today’s environment, but if Colbert and the others were politically equal opportunity offenders like Johnny Carson and Jay Leno were (and David Letterman in his 1980s Carson-following days), they’d bring in more viewers. The only contemporary talk show hosts that come close to even-handedness are the aforementioned Jon Stewart and HBO’s Bill Maher. But both are still staunchly liberal.

JOHNNY CARSON WAS RIGHT – KEEP POLITICS OUT OF LATE NIGHT.pic.twitter.com/OomO9e8hWa

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 19, 2025

As some of the pro-Colbert articles have pointed out, the Carson/Leno/Letterman show format is somewhat of an anachronism in 2025 as viewers have so many more options. Which is all the more reason why tailoring your show for only half the country is just plain stupid. 

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