In the aftermath of the news that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is cancelled for financial reasons, late-night comedy shows appear to be facing a reckoning. The Late Show reportedly was losing $40 million a year, and the show’s peak viewership of 3.1 million was nothing compared to Johnny Carson’s 10 to 15 million viewers during the heyday of late shows. A statement from CBS has denied any connection to the cancellation and a lawsuit with President Donald Trump or low performance, saying the cancellation is “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Jay Leno, the former host of The Tonight Show, offered his own thoughts about the current stated of late night shows, blasting modern shows for being too partisan.  David Trulio, the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, interviewed Leno and noted how an analysis of his jokes found they were “equally balanced” in taking jabs at both Republicans and Democrats. Leno said that avoiding being partisan enabled him to capture “a whole audience.” The modern late show landscape, however, he said, has gotten too political. “Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have [to] give your opinion,” he said. He shared how he had known fellow comedian Rodney Dangerfield for 40 years and never knew whether he was a Republican or a Democrat.

“And to me, I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be. And I love political humor, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other,” he warned. Trulio noted that both Dangerfield and Leno found great success during their careers. Leno once again underscored the importance of using comedy to speak to everyone. “Well, why shoot for just half an audience all the time? You know, why not try to get the whole [audience]? I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture,” he explained. “I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group, you know, or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just do what’s funny.”

Colbert has often made jokes at the expense of conservatives, having first come on the scene during The Colbert Report, where he played an exaggerated version of a conservative political commentator. His critics have often accused him of TDS or “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” as many of his jokes have been aimed at the President, even before he was re-elected. Colbert’s supporters, however, have eyed the cancellation with suspicion given that Paramount, CBS’s parent company, recently settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Trump over an edited “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. David Letterman, Colbert’s predecessor, called the cancellation “pure cowardice.” Colbert’s last show will air May 2026.