Late-night TV's partisan turn has become financially unsustainable and politically destructive
Source: "Stephen Colbert, CBS and the collapse of late-night TV politics | Fox News." May 22, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
The author argues that Stephen Colbert's strongly liberal comedy show ultimately failed because taking partisan political sides in entertainment doesn't work long-term. Even though it got good ratings, the show lost money and alienated half the potential audience, leading to its cancellation.
Conclusion
The partisan approach adopted by late-night comedy shows like Stephen Colbert's has ultimately proven unsustainable both financially and politically, leading to the collapse of traditional late-night television
Premises
- Colbert's show was losing tens of millions of dollars annually despite high ratings
- Late-night shows now draw only a fraction of the audience compared to Johnny Carson's era when comedy was more balanced
- Deliberately alienating half the audience through partisan content is like 'drinking a magic elixir that contained a slow-acting poison pill'
- Political retaliation occurred when CBS canceled Colbert's show after he criticized the network's Trump lawsuit settlement
- The replacement show is avoiding politics entirely and paying CBS for airtime rather than being subsidized
- The fragmented media landscape has fundamentally changed how late-night television operates and survives
Assumptions
- Financial sustainability should be a primary concern for television programming
- Political neutrality or balance is preferable to partisan content in entertainment
- Audience size and broad appeal are key metrics for television success
- Corporate decisions about show cancellations are primarily driven by political motivations rather than business considerations
- The Johnny Carson era represents the ideal model for late-night television