Paramount sent shockwaves through late-night TV when it announced plans to cancel The Late Show and end Stephen Colbert's run next year. But could anything have been done to save the show? Andy Cohen shared his thoughts on what CBS and Colbert could have done differently.
According to Paramount, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was operating at a financial loss that cost the show $40 million per year. Andy Cohen, a late-night TV veteran and experienced television producer, suggested that number was a realistic figure. However, he also says there were ways around it that didn't involve shuttering one of the more iconic television franchises.
Speaking on SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live, the late-night TV host said, "What they would probably do is say, ‘Listen, Stephen, your show is losing X amount of money a year. There’s two things we could do. We could cut the budget in half, maybe move out of the Ed Sullivan Theater, do the show in a small studio that we already own’ because CBS has a lot of studio space.”
“Cut down on staff," Cohen continued. "You have 200 people working here. We needed to be 100 people or 60." The Bravo star also suggested that Colbert could have reduced the number of episodes he does during a year and double-tape shows during the week.
Cohen's ideas seem reasonable. The Ed Sullivan Theater went under extensive renovations for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and often earns praise from guests. But at the end of the day, the studio is a small part of what makes a late-night TV show effective. We saw proof of that during the pandemic when hosts broadcast from home and Conan O'Brien did his TBS show from the Largo theater in Los Angeles.
Reducing the episode count would also help. Colbert already takes off Fridays and receives several extended breaks throughout the year. The host's salary would likely need to take a hit, but given Colbert's impressive net worth, it's safe to assume it's a trade he'd happily make.
Cutting the staff would be a tough pill to swallow for Colbert. During his announcement that CBS cancelled the show, the comedian made a point to celebrate his staff of 200 people. It's harder to know if Colbert would agree to laying off half of his staff to appease CBS.
Andy Cohen concluded that CBS completely abandoning The Late Show proves the network is "cooked." Skydance's takeover at Paramount could give the network some stability, but it's clear that cancelling The Late Show has been a PR nightmare for the company.