Stephen Colbert and The End of an Era

Memories of attending Colbert's first "Late Show" — and how it sadly foretold the reasons it would be canceled.

When Stephen Colbert announced that CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—and the talk show franchise itself, which has been on the network since David Letterman launched it in 1993—it was a wallop for many reasons.

Even to those paying attention to how CBS’s parent company Viacom has gone out of its way to be more Trump-friendly—for example, this story warned of this outcome due to Colbert’s outspokenness against the president and his administration—the cancellation is still a shock. Especially since Vulture notes that in terms of ratings, “[though] he rules over a much-diminished landscape, Colbert is the clear king of late night.” What this means for late-night television remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: it is the end of an era for one of TV’s most enduring franchises.

For many of us, this also feels personal. Since starting with The Colbert Report, the beloved comedian has been a reliable part of late-night TV for over two decades. And upon hearing the news, an immediate memory came to mind: I had attended an early episode of Colbert’s Late Show ten years ago.

In fall 2015, as an entertainment reporter at the New York Daily News, I scored a ticket to the last test run prior to the Late Show’s official premiere. Expectations were high, given that Colbert was taking over Letterman’s iconic run, but the mood was warm and celebratory.

I took copious mental notes with the goal of writing it up for the Daily News. My notes ended up in this column, but after hearing the cancellation news, I found the draft and now share it with you. (I did some minor tweaks for context and clarity.)

Stephen Colbert might now host CBS’ “The Late Show,” but he hasn’t completely left “The Colbert Report” behind.

The comedian’s test episode on Thursday — the final test run prior to making his official debut on Tuesday night — showed that he is marrying elements of his Comedy Central show with the traditional talk show format.

For fans of “The Colbert Report,” the talk show almost abounds with Easter eggs to Colbert’s quirks, passions and former show.

In fact, he revealed during an audience Q&A that he brought with him three props from “The Colbert Report”: a Captain America shield, his mother’s banner from attending Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and photo of his late father.

The opening moments of the show best reflected how Colbert and his staff would tweak the traditional talk show format with some “Colbert Report” elements as well as some new twists.

Colbert’s house band, led by versatile bandleader Jon Batiste, kicked things off by coming out on stage and performing their instruments while lined up side by side, with the talk show host joining to deliver his opening monologue.

After a brief riff decrying McDonald’s extending breakfast all day long (leading him to note, “Pancakes for breakfast? That means mom’s either very sad or very tired”), the show’s opening credits rolled, with Colbert himself announcing the guests (“Supergirl” actress Laura Benanti, Colin Quinn and Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Ayad Akhtar).

The new “Late Night” host saved the bulk of his monologue to be delivered at his desk (shades of his former conservative blowhard persona), with news graphics flashing next to him.

Colbert did an extended segment on how he couldn’t stop himself from bingeing on reacting to Donald Trump’s head-scratching statements, indicating that the presidential candidate would be a major well the comedian will draw from.

But arguably the most popular segment of the episode was Colbert introducing his own celebrity lifestyle brand a la Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop or Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James, with many in the audience hoping to see on an actual episode.

As for Colbert’s interaction with his guests, he was charming throughout; his duet with Benanti on “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” from “My Fair Lady” was a highlight.

My on-the-scene reporting reflects how the entertainment landscape was set to change over the next ten years—and in a way that would ultimately spell the talk show’s demise. But Colbert has always remained the same. He might not be on network television again after Late Show ends, but no doubt he will continue on at another platform lucky to have him. And we’ll be lucky to have him too.

---

Pop Culture We’re Grateful For

It’s been A WEEK. To conclude this on a more optimistic note, MOPC is sharing the pop culture we’re grateful for right now, and we’d love to hear yours as well.

Somebody, Somewhere: The beloved show finally received Emmy recognition, including for Jeff Hiller’s standout performance.

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Truly a “good hang” and the best celebrity-hosted podcast right now.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham reunion (hopefully?): In 2025, nothing is more telling than coordinated Instagram posts, especially when quoting the same song.

KPop Demon Hunters: Everything about this movie is a bright spot: the fact that it exists, the enormously fun premise and that it’s a huge hit. If you’ve seen it already or are planning to, check out this

Asian A.V. Club

interview with the film’s creator and co-director, Maggie Kang.

Las Culturistas Culture Awards nominations announcement: If you’ve heard the phrase “it’s an honor just to be nominated,” it truly applies to this hilarious and irreverent awards show. (The main event will air Aug. 5 on Bravo.)

Tell us: What are your thoughts on Colbert and the end of The Late Show? And what are your pop culture bright spots?