Why The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Was Canceled - Is The Daily Show Next?

Stephen Colbert stunned viewers when he released a video from his show on Instagram bearing the following message:

"I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending 'The Late Show' in May. It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of 'The Late Show' on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."

After Colbert broke the news, CBS executives released their own statement praising Colbert as "irreplaceable" and lamenting the sad state of the modern TV landscape. "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," the statement read. "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount." 

That last sentence is notable because, given a recent monologue from Colbert, not everyone finds it believable. CBS is owned by Paramount, and on Monday, Colbert harshly criticized Paramount for agreeing to a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump. The settlement was the result of a transparently flimsy lawsuit from Trump alleging that "60 Minutes" had deceptively edited its interview with then-presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, a claim that largely fell apart when CBS released all the footage to the public. 

"I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: It's Big Fat Bribe," Colbert stated. "This all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance."

Quoting from a media journalist's report on the merger, Colbert added, "Once Skydance gets CBS, the new owner's desire to please Trump could 'put pressure on late night host and frequent Trump critic Stephen Colbert.'" Jokingly stroking his new mustache, Colbert added, "Okay, but how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert if they can't find him?" In light of recent events, the joke's a little less funny now.

Colbert isn't the only late night host to criticize Paramount for its $16 million so-called settlement. Jon Stewart at "The Daily Show" has repeatedly ripped into the company for the decision, even bringing in former "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft to help explain to the audience how galling the settlement was. "It was a shakedown, that's what I'd call it," Kroft told Stewart. "I mean, some people call it extortion." Stewart ridiculed Paramount for the decision constantly prior to that interview and has only continued to do so since then. It's concerning, though, because the show's home channel, Comedy Central, is also owned by Paramount and, as such, its life is similarly in the hands of Paramount executives.

For signs of hope, fans of "The Daily Show" have pointed to the series' promising ratings: It recently hit a 10-year high in viewership. What's more impressive: Mondays, the one day a week Stewart hosts, are consistently the highest-rated day of the week. Not only is "The Daily Show" proving its worth ratings-wise, but the correspondent who's insulted Paramount the most is also the least replaceable of the group.

The problem is that viewers can't actually trust that these decisions are being made purely based on the numbers. According to the recent Nielsen ratings, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" still regularly tops its time slot and has gained viewers in this last quarter. If Colbert staving off viewership decline couldn't save him, can we trust that it'll save Stewart?

When Stewart himself was asked if he's worried about a potential cancellation of "The Daily Show" on his podcast, his answer seemed confident: "Let me tell you something," he replied, "I've been kicked out of s***tier establishments than that. We'll land on our feet." His reasoning was that corporations are motivated by profit at the end of the day, and he thinks the Emmy-winning "The Daily Show" is still valuable enough to have a future at Comedy Central:

"If they're looking at it as purely a real estate transaction, I think we bring a lot of value. That may not be their consideration. They may sell the whole f***ing place for parts. And we'll deal with it when we do. But I'm so happy and proud of everybody that works over there. [Paramount/Skydance] want to do that? Knock themselves out."

Even ignoring its improving ratings and its cultural relevance (only "South Park" rivals "The Daily Show" in terms of how much media buzz it rakes in), "The Daily Show" shouldn't be canceled because it's simply very good right now. After an awkward few years after Trevor Noah's departure in 2022, in February 2024, the show struck gold with its new format: Jon Stewart would host on Mondays and one of the other correspondents would host the next three days of the week.

The result is that Stewart has gotten to enjoy the lack of burnout that comes from a full-time hosting gig, and every Monday still feels like a special event. What's been even more fun is getting to better know the other rotating hosts: Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, and Michael Kosta all bring something different to the table. (Although Desi Lydic's the best of them, let's get that straight.) They all seem to be on their A-game because they're competing to get that eventual full-time host slot, but many fans hope the show never settles on a full-time host since the weekly variety has kept the whole thing fresh. (Fresher even compared to certain stretches of Stewart's original run.)

But the best thing about "The Daily Show" is that it's arguably the only weekday late-night show with some actual bite to it. Jimmy Kimmel's Trump-trashing feels too middle school-coded to move the needle, while Seth Meyers has been pretty open about how he doesn't expect his show to change any minds. But when Jon Stewart gets serious in his Monday night monologue, it still feels important. Not only is "The Daily Show" a beloved institution with decades of history behind it, but it's still a well-loved, hard-hitting TV show today. If Paramount (or its upcoming owners Skydance) decided to cancel it, it would be a travesty.