To defend the network against charges of political cowardice in the face of President Trump's pressure, CBS insiders have pointed to the slow-motion nature of "The Late Show" cancellation. If we were trying to appease Trump, they say, why would we leave Stephen Colbert on the air for ten more months of Trump mockery?
It's a fair point, and one that Keith Olbermann, who has been through the TV cancellation wringer several times, made on X over the weekend. He responded to a woman who said "we are officially at the 'pulling comedians off the air who criticize our dear leader' phase of fascism," and said, "Sorry. That's not what happened here. If it had, they wouldn't be keeping him on until next MAY."
But the questions about Paramount and politics linger, and tonight Colbert will have a chance to address them. He will tape his first new episode since this all went down last week.
LateNighter founder Jed Rosenzweig says Colbert "obviously" won't pull any punches when it comes to Trump. "But his comments about the show's cancellation last week seemed very carefully chosen — gracious, even — toward his CBS bosses, whom he praised as 'great partners,'" Rosenzweig pointed out.
"Maybe he meant it. Maybe he doesn't blame his direct bosses for the decision. Or maybe he's just doing what he can not to burn the house down with ten months still to go," he said. "He'll be fine, of course — but he also has 200 staffers to think about." Here's my latest CNN write about Colbert.
>> Many of the followup think-pieces have been about the shrinking ambitions of the broadcast networks. Cancelling shows (and cutting checks to Trump's library) are the kinds of moves that "hasten the demise of network TV," the NYT's Jason Zinoman writes...
