One month ago, late-night show host Stephen Colbert sat behind his desk and, while performing his cold open, announced that this would be the last season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and that in ten months, CBS would no longer have a late show, period.
The news was met with gasps, boos, and general disdain, a sentiment that Colbert admitted he agreed with.
You can see the announcement here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
In a more passionate performance, Colbert shared that CBS had canceled the show for "financial reasons," but with President Donald Trump loudly and proudly celebrating the cancellation of The Late Show, Colbert declared that for the next ten months, "the gloves were off."
Some believe that this guarantees more passionate, honest, and blunt commentary, à la Conan O'Brien when TBS canceled Conan in 2021, which inspired some wild, excruciatingly honest, and off-the-cuff performances before the show wrapped.
Colbert was understandable furious about the cancellation, as were other comedians and late-night show hosts, including Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon.
But one particularly touching response came from Conan O'Brien, who dedicated a significant portion of a recent award speech to showing his support for the "essential" and "too talented" Stephen Colbert.
Introduced by Friends actress Lisa Kudrow, O'Brien was inducted into the 27th Television Academy Hall of Fame last week. While highlighting specific moments from his career, O'Brien brought up the current issues surrounding late-night television.
O'Brien said:
"Late-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear."
"But those voices are not going anywhere. People like Stephen Colbert are too talented, and too essential, to go away. It's not going to happen."
"He's not going anywhere. Stephen is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely."
Conversation surrounding this speech showed up on the "LateShow" subReddit, and Redditors were hopeful.
"This last season will be delicious. And we are all going to support Colbert in whatever endeavor he chooses to do next." - Wonderful-View-6366
"Hear me out… make him prime time." - Norbluth
"I said when Colbert was 'canceled' that he and his comrades in late night should start a new medium for comedy, and dominate the f**k out of it. Glad that Conan intimates the same thing." - Personal-Today-3121
"I say set him free on a podcast and YouTube/internet channel. Give him a tour and documentary, like 'Conan Can’t Stop.'"
"I’d love to see him stay on television wherever possible, but realistically, he’s likely to be censored everywhere, and television/traditional media is becoming worse every day. Better for him to run something himself that he can, at least mostly, control." - Charming_Funcation_58
"I think there a chance Comedy Cental rights their ship and now The Colbert Report comes back." - TheGooseFraba
"Hear me out: COlbert and COnan start a podcast called 'CO2' and frequently host comedic and political commentary guest stars, like Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart." - TheBookishAndTheBard
Some on Twitter also hoped that Colbert would follow a path similar to O'Brien's.
This is a powerful example of using your platform for good. While O'Brien could have accepted his induction and explored what it meant to him, he used the opportunity to make a statement about censorship.
And just as he said, Stephen Colbert likely is not done. His show might be taken off the air, but that won't keep him from starting something new, leaning into social media, or even creating a podcast. The possibilities are endless, as is the late-night comedian's drive.
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