CBS’s shocking cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has drawn reactions from across the entertainment world, but comments from inside late-night continue to stand out. TV legends Jay Leno and David Letterman offered vastly different takes on Colbert’s fate, reflecting their fundamentally opposing philosophies on comedy, politics, and the host-network dynamic.
The overwhelming sentiment among the current crop of late-night TV hosts is that CBS made a political decision, not a financial one. Parent company Paramount needed FCC approval to merge with Skydance, so critics say it cozied up to the Trump administration. Just days after Colbert called out Paramount on air, news broke that The Late Show was coming to an end.
But Jay Leno thinks politics is to blame for a different reason. The ex-Tonight Show host suggested that Colbert’s political satire may have come at the cost of broad appeal.
“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,” Leno said in an interview with David Trulio. “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. Why shoot for just half an audience all the time?”
Colbert routinely faced criticism that he was too far to the left in his monologues. Those celebrating the comedian's demise would point to the overwhelming reaction from other liberals and even Democratic lawmakers upset over The Late Show's cancellation.
David Letterman, however, came out swinging in defense of his successor. In an interview posted to his YouTube channel, the original Late Show host dismissed CBS’s financial justification for the cancellation as “pure cowardice” and praised Colbert as a “precise, crisp, witty political satirist.” Letterman didn’t mince words about the network’s decision, calling it “gutless” and mocking Skydance as “a discount airline.”
"If they were losing this kind of money, you’re telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?” Letterman asked in reference to reports The Late Show with Stephen Colbert lost $40 million last year. “Yeah right. I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed.”
The contrast between Leno and Letterman is not exactly a shock. Leno famously avoided overt political commentary during his Tonight Show tenure, preferring apolitical monologue jokes and mass appeal. It's something Jimmy Fallon tried to continue during his run, but has recently found himself punching back at the president.
Letterman leaned more into cynicism, subversion, and eventually more political commentary. Network politics were the catalyst for Letterman to leave NBC and create The Late Show in the first place. The dynamic of Leno as the company man and Letterman as the rebel played out again in their responses to Colbert’s fate.
Leno thrived by playing it safe and keeping NBC execs comfortable. Letterman often rankled them at CBS with his refusal to play along. Colbert followed in the Letterman mold, challenging the political and media establishment with biting satire. But in the end, Colbert may have challenged his network one too many times.