{"id":668803,"date":"2026-05-14T11:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668803\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:33:09","slug":"colbert-is-going-out-head-held-high-but-more-canadians-are-turning-to-a-gloves-off-kimmel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668803\/","title":{"rendered":"Colbert is going out head held high, but more Canadians are turning to a gloves-off Kimmel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

From left, Richard Kind, Stephen Colbert and Evelyn McGee Colbert at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, on April 27.KRISTA SCHLUETER\/The New York Times<\/p>\n

As The Late Show with Stephen Colbert gets closer to its final episode<\/a> on May 21, debate continues as to the role Donald Trump has played in the talk show\u2019s impending end.<\/p>\n

CBS insists that it\u2019s getting out of the postnews, comedy-and-music chat-fest business purely for financial reasons. <\/p>\n

But David Letterman, The Late Show\u2019s originating host, is among those who don\u2019t buy it; he\u2019s called the American network\u2019s higher-ups \u201clying weasels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The widespread suspicion is that Colbert was cancelled to curry favour with the Trump administration as the network\u2019s parent company, Paramount, sought approval for a merger with Skydance last summer. <\/p>\n

The President, who does regularly ask networks to oust TV hosts he doesn\u2019t like on social media, has not hidden his happiness that a long-time critic is getting the hook, posting in July: \u201cI absolutely love that Colbert got fired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less discussed and dissected in the nine months Colbert has been a dead host talking is the role Trump played in making him successful in the first place.<\/p>\n

Bigger picture: In losing Stephen Colbert, television is losing the voice of accountability<\/a><\/p>\n

Colbert fallout: When American TV is censored, Canadian networks are, too, by proxy<\/a><\/p>\n

Without the rise of MAGA, it\u2019s unlikely Colbert\u2019s version of The Late Show would have topped the late-night ratings for nine straight seasons in the U.S. (though it hasn\u2019t, notably, here in Canada). <\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget now given Colbert\u2019s near statesman-like stature in certain circles that when the South Carolina-raised comedian first took over from Letterman in 2015, he was, essentially, a blank slate to viewers.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t a stand-up \u2013 and he hadn\u2019t hosted a late-night show as himself. He was known for a Fox News-spoofing character he played on Comedy Central\u2019s The Colbert Report, an arch-conservative clown also named Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n

The actual Colbert didn\u2019t prove as popular upon launch. <\/p>\n

While his cable comic alter-ego had been entertainingly provocative, the real deal was a long-married Catholic father of three who was almost alarmingly even-keeled and served up political humour that could have a whiff of PBS to it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker\u2019s TV critic at the time, registered her early impressions of the host: \u201cHe had a try-hard earnestness, a damp corporate pall; he was courtly with guests, as if modelling bipartisan behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

After an initial burst of viewership, curiosity about Colbert wore off. <\/p>\n

The Late Show fell back behind NBC\u2019s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the ratings within a year and was regularly swapping spots with ABC\u2019s Jimmy Kimmel Live! for third place.<\/p>\n

Colbert might have stayed an also-ran if weren\u2019t for the election of a Republican President whose catering to conspiracists and anti-democratic urges led to a reinvigoration of the comedian\u2019s satirical instincts.<\/p>\n

While Fallon had tousled Trump\u2019s hair when he had him on as a guest during the 2016 campaign, Colbert directly challenged the then-candidate to say Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A. <\/p>\n

A few weeks after Trump\u2019s first inauguration, Colbert crept ahead of Fallon in the ratings in the U.S. \u2013 and never looked back. <\/p>\n

The Late Show had become the natural place for many Americans who hadn\u2019t gone MAGA to tune in for reaction to each day\u2019s new outrage.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert arrives for The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘The Most Powerful People in Media,’ in New York, on May 7.Eduardo Munoz\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Colbert\u2019s viewers weren\u2019t always watching for the biggest laughs. They were often looking for moral leadership in a time of Democratic disarray and division.<\/p>\n

The late-night host provided that in spades after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol. <\/p>\n

In the most meaningful monologue of his career (its seriousness amplified by the pandemic-era lack of a studio audience), Colbert asked a simple straight-to-camera question to Republicans who supported Trump: \u201cHave you had enough?\u201d On YouTube, this video amassed more than 12 million views.<\/p>\n

This J6 j\u2019accuse was perhaps the closest 21st century America has come to the \u201cHave you no sense of decency?\u201d moment from the McCarthy hearings in 1954<\/p>\n

But, of course, it didn\u2019t have the same impact in the fragmented culture of 2021.<\/p>\n

The asterisks to Colbert\u2019s near decade-long run at No. 1 in the U.S. must be noted: a) late-night has a fraction of the audience it once did with on-demand options available all hours and b) his competitors often beat him in the 18 to 49 demographic that most appeals to advertisers. <\/p>\n

Colbert\u2019s influence was likewise lessened by how, monologues aside, his comedy bits didn\u2019t always light up social media as late-night now must.<\/p>\n

None of his regular segments became as popular as, say, James Corden\u2019s Carpool Karaoke or Kimmel\u2019s Celebrities Read Mean Tweets. He never had a megaviral musical hit like Fallon\u2019s star-studded Star Wars medley (which has more than over half a billion views online).<\/p>\n

Instead, Colbert distinguished himself as an interviewer, based on his erudition and an ability to speak to celebrities (and politicians) human to human and heart to heart.<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert to co\u2011write new Lord of the Rings movie<\/a><\/p>\n

One of his greatest Late Show moments came in 2019 when he asked Keanu Reeves: \u201cWhat do you think happens when we die?\u201d<\/p>\n

After a thoughtful pause, the Canadian star responded: \u201cI know that the ones who love us will miss us.\u201d<\/p>\n

This beautiful, straightforward answer inspired the creation of the Colbert Questionert, a series of more philosophical queries for guests that became a regular feature. Former U.S. president Barack Obama will be the final person to do it.<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s appearances on The Late Show in Colbert\u2019s last weeks on air are part of what feels \u2013 a steady stream of CBS and Trump jokes aside \u2013 like a \u201cwhen they go low, we go high\u201d exit that appeals to the better angels of America\u2019s nature.<\/p>\n

But Colbert\u2019s performance of civility can almost look like capitulation compared to, over on ABC, the uncancelled Kimmel. That late-night host hasn\u2019t given an inch since a politicized attempt to take him off air last fall failed \u2013 and, indeed, seems more gloves-off than ever.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

(L-R) Grant Heslov, Stephen Colbert, and George Clooney attend the 51st Chaplin Award Gala honouring George Clooney at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on April 27, in New York City.Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s recent mock White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner roast in which he described Melania Trump as having \u201cthe glow of an expectant widow\u201d was not in any way the call to assassination Team MAGA tried to twist it into.<\/p>\n

But it was, nevertheless, an undeniably nasty joke suggesting the First Lady is eager for her older husband to kick the bucket. <\/p>\n

And Canadians are eating it up. <\/p>\n

Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Citytv has been No. 1 in late night in Canada so far in 2026, outperforming Colbert by 24 per cent, according to Rogers. <\/p>\n

If asked which American late-night host has the most stereotypically Canadian temperament, most would no doubt pick decorous, decent Colbert \u2013 who\u2019s consistently represented our country as a kinder, gentler alternative to the U.S.A., dating back to when he was host of The Colbert Report (where he lovingly dubbed us \u201cAmerica\u2019s hat\u201d). <\/p>\n

But the host hasn\u2019t been as in tune with the more complex reality of Canada of late \u2013 as was apparent in his softball interview with Justin Trudeau in 2024, a couple months before Trump\u2019s re-election and a couple months before Trudeau stepped down as prime minister. <\/p>\n

Both men seemed out of touch and out of steam after a decade in their respective hot seats, uncertain how to fight against an impending second round of Trumpism.<\/p>\n

Trump giveth and Trump taketh away \u2013 and Canadians have already turned the channel to those who have their elbows up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: From left, Richard Kind, Stephen Colbert and Evelyn McGee Colbert at the Alice…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,2922,348],"class_list":["post-668803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-noastack","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}