Stephen Colbert remains the king of late night TV
By Jeremy Dick
Amid recent controversies, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is still going strong as the most popular late night host on primetime television.
Sorry to the people out there taking part in the short-lived #FireColbert campaign, but Stephen Colbert isn’t going anywhere!
Lately, Stephen Colbert has been the subject of some controversy. A joke about a sexual relationship between President Trump and Vladimir Putin brought some criticism his way. Despite accusations of being a homophobe, Colbert stood by the comments and is totally not sorry for dishing on the president.
Although this joke might have made some people out there sad, it didn’t hurt Colbert at all. In fact, his ratings are actually on the rise — WTOP reports The Late Show beat The Tonight Show by its biggest margin since Colbert’s first episode in 2015. The show averaged 3.06 million viewers last week, up 12% from the week before. In comparison, Jimmy Fallon averaged 2.56 million viewers over on NBC.
There’s a reason the #FireColbert campaign didn’t work. Colbert’s comments were still nowhere near as offensive as some of the things Trump himself has said. Trying to put Colbert’s joke under that microscope only brings more attention to the horrible things the Trumpster has been caught on tape saying.
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In any case, the strong late night ratings are only ensuring Colbert isn’t leaving his home on CBS anytime soon. That’s not good news for the president. But it’s great for those of us who enjoy seeing him taken down a peg every weeknight.