"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will end Thursday, giving the networks a new chance to rethink late night television.
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With Late Show with Stephen Colbert going off the air Thursday night, the future of late-night television is in question. While the circumstances are not ideal—the timing of CBS’s cancellation was undeniably fishy—the end result is. It is long past time for the networks to rethink late-night television.
The rise of online videos, social media and direct avenues to interact with fans has made traditional late-night TV redundant.
The tantalizing tidbits celebrities once reserved for interviews are now shared on their Instagrams long before they repackage them for late-night giggles. Stars pay more attention to their personal brands than ever before, which makes sincere, viral moments on talk shows less likely than ever. And the number of people watching anything after the late local news has dropped dramatically in just the past decade.
Here are five ways late-night TV needs to change in the wake of Stephen Colbert’s cancellation.
Many lamented CBS’s plan to turn Colbert’s plum 11:35 p.m. slot over to Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which is not a traditional late-night show. Alas, economic decisions can’t be made on tradition, and Allen’s show has proven itself in syndication while also being cheap to produce, two winning attributes.
Kudos to CBS for again breaking the mold following the relatively quick cancellation of Taylor Tomlinson’s fun but rarely compelling After Midnight, which replaced James Corden’s Late Late Show in 2024. Right idea, wrong execution—so try, try again.
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Late-night is dominated by old guys. That’s not exactly news, but despite it being pointed out time and time again, it doesn’t change. Networks need to start looking at younger talent if they want to keep any of the younger audiences around—most of them already use their phones, not their TVs, at night, but installing a YouTube star or young up-and-coming comic could bring them back.
As an alum of Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Fallon has long embraced goofy games and silly song sendups, and he gets some mileage out of those gimmicks. But late-night TV used to be better known for interviews that actually meant something. Colbert and Kimmel excel in that area due to their ability to empathize and discuss issues of substance. Heartfelt moments can cut through the clutter on Reels and YouTube and actually draw new viewers to an old format.
Remember when still-green Tonight Show host Jay Leno tried to interview the stars of Cheers after the show’s series finale—only they were very, very drunk? It was unscripted and it was incredibly memorable, still talked about 30+ years later. By piggybacking on live events or big moments, late night could still do the same.
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