CBS Cancels Colbert (And That's Not All)

Colbert was clearly blindsided by the abrupt announcement last week that Late Show will end in May of next year It39s fair to say most of us were similarly stunned Remember back in May 1991 when Johnny Carson shocked NBC by announcing during its Upfront presentation that he was going to retire in May 1992 A year of very fond farewells followed This is kind of like that Except it is not The farewells will be heartfelt but the suppressed anger and worry will be palpableGiven Colbert39s giddy predilection for trashing Trump one can39t help but wonder if the president had anything to do with this Everyone has an opinion on that But know this If Colbert was harsh before he is now loaded for bear going so far last night as to jokingly tell him quotGo fck yourselfquot Indeed if last night39s monologue was any indication Trump might want to order a few cartons of Tums CBS and Paramount executives might want to lay in a supply as well Jimmy Fallon Seth Meyers Anderson Cooper Andy Cohen Jon Stewart and John Oliver all turned out during last night39s telecast to show their support I expect all of them along with Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman to stop by in the year ahead for what promise to be memorable quotfinalquot interviewsI share the concerns of many Not because I am a devoted fan of Colbert39s I am not Not because I want the current state of latenight broadcast television to remain the same I do not It has been clear for quite some time that something must change Not because I recall with some nostalgia the excitement surrounding his ascension to the throne in New York City39s fabled Ed Sullivan Theater What39s to become of that legendary venue when Colbert and Co depart quotThis beautiful theater will live on as Ed Sullivan SelfStoragequot Colbert predicted last nightRather my feelings have more to do with the elimination of the Late Show itself As we all know Colbert isn39t being replaced CBS39 powerful parent Paramount is dismantling the whole damn thing First a blow to the venerable 60 Minutes and now thisWhat will occupy the Late Show time period Will it go the way of the hour after it that once was home to the muchmissed Late Late Show with James Corden and more recently the barely there After Midnight Surely CBS can do something interesting with it Something that entertains viewers provides a promotional platform for Paramount product and clips well for YouTube and various social mediaMaybe a present or future person in power at Paramount will figure this out and make a change If not and for now I am comfortable declaring that I haven39t seen so alarming a broadcast botch since ABC cancelled its longrunning soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live in one swoop And before that CBS terminating historic multimedia treasure Guiding Light which began as a radio drama in 1937 before transitioning to television in 1952 and the onceiconic As the World Turns a household brand and cultural touchstone the likes of which simply do not come along anymoreCommanding primetime variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show don39t come along anymore either Are you seeing a pattern hereIn other words the cancellation of Late Show for whatever reason nefarious or otherwise could turn out to be yet another shortsighted corporate assault on broadcast television It isn39t dying a natural death It39s being butchered piece by pieceAt a time when daily media headlines continue to excitedly call attention to the perpetual collective decline in broadcast ratings it seems counterproductive for the broadcasters themselves to eliminate the very things variety shows soap operas latenight talk shows that once distinguished them from their crafty competitors Cable has a couple of talk shows of note including HBO39s Real Time with Bill Maher Fox News Channel39s Gutfeld and Bravo39s Watch What Happens Live What39s with the exclamation points One streamer Peacock has a daily soap opera NBC castoff Days of Our Lives that seems to be doing well It is one of Peacock39s most popular offerings and if memory serves it just received more Daytime Emmy nominations than it has in yearsI imagine it won39t be long until a smart streamer takes a shot at a nightly talk program I don39t think John Mulaney currently on Netflix is going to cut it Love him not his show But Merv Griffin in syndication and Larry King on CNN both managed to do so enjoying significant primetime success for many yearsThe fact that this blow to late night television is happening at CBS is even more disconcerting given everything the network has recently been doing to bolster the broadcast experience and create a specific entertainment environment ConsiderCBS has established the most creative and eyecatching crosspromotion of its programs often during the closing credits of its shows This started with the delightful Carrie Preston of Elsbeth popping up all over the place but has expanded to include other CBS starsCBS gave us Matlock an uncommonly smart show for grownups that has been terrifically entertaining It pairs well with Elsbeth on Thursday night but each show makes for a fine binge on its ownCBS continues to support Ghosts which is still the most original liveaction comedy series on broadcast television Once upon a time I would have referred to Ghosts as quotunCBSlikequot NevermoreCBS has refined CBS Mornings into a mustwatch alternative to NBC39s Today and ABC39s Good Morning America Host Gayle King Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil and the invaluable Vladimir Duthiers now have the best group chemistry on morning televisionCBS boldly launched a new daytime drama Beyond the Gates that appears to be holding and slowly building an audience I think the storytelling on this show could be punched up but otherwise Gates is all goodLast but not least CBS cancelled The TalkI have no doubt that Stephen Colbert will be just fine A new home elsewhere in our mediasaturated culture would appear to be his for the asking I imagine also that CBS will continue to surprise me But this fresh and seemingly unnecessary blow to broadcast television does not bode well for anyone What nextPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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CBS Cancels Colbert (And That's Not All)

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