CNN's Anderson Cooper shows up to support 'Late Show' host Stephen Colbert after cancellation
CBS announced last week that it was canceling "The Late Show" and that Colbert's stint in late night will end in May 2026. While the network insisted the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," many skeptics believe the decision was politically motivated.
On Monday, a bevy of celebrities, as well as fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and John Oliver, appeared on the "Late Show" to support their soon-to-be fallen colleague.
Among the others on hand was Cooper, who is also a "60 Minutes" correspondent for CBS News.
The celebrity-packed segment featured "Weird Al" Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda performing Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" to "cheer people up" amid the news Colbert would soon be canceled. CBS cameras showed various audience members during the performance, and the famous spectators were embedded in the crowd.
Cooper was shown looking at his phone as Bravo host Andy Cohen, who was seated beside him, went bananas when he noticed they were on air. Cohen then leaned over and kissed Cooper, resulting in a look of disbelief from the CNN anchor.
The segment ended with a cartoon image of President Donald Trump embracing the Paramount logo, a spoof of the viral "kiss cam" incident that occurred last week when former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught canoodling with another executive from the company at a Coldplay concert, both of whom are married to other people.
Much like the Astronomer honcho, the cartoon Trump ducked in a panic when he realized he was on-screen.
Colbert concluded the segment by taking more shots at Paramount, mocking CBS for chalking the looming cancellation of his show to a financial decision. Though "The Late Show" reportedly loses CBS $40 million a year.
While it was a lighthearted segment, Cooper's involvement is noteworthy as it poked fun at both the corporate parent of CBS News, which controls "60 Minutes," and Trump, who Cooper is tasked with covering for CNN.
According to IMDB, Cooper has appeared on Colbert's show 20 other times as a guest.
CBS News and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
There had been speculation about the future of the Paramount-owned late-night programs, which also include "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, as its planned corporate merger with Skydance Media is expected to take place later this year pending approval from Trump's FCC.
Paramount Global and CBS agreed earlier this month to settle Trump's $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network for at least $16 million. Days before CBS announced the plug was pulled on the "Late Show," Colbert was outspoken against the settlement, calling it a "big fat bribe."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Colbert's cancellation: A ratings crisis or a political bribe? We investigate
Cue the late-night autopsy. Since Stephen Colbert's announcement last week that CBS would discontinue the "Late Show" and, as a result, his hosting gig, viewers and industry insiders alike have been quick to offer dueling explanations for the shocking shift. In one version, Paramount, CBS' parent company, is bending a knee to President Donald Trump, ousting his frequent critic Colbert to help appease an administration they hope will approve a major merger with Skydance Media before the FCC. In another, Paramount is reading the writing on the wall, as late-night and network television writ large struggle to keep up with streaming. Audiences, after all, seem more eager to hear celebrities spill on podcasts or short-form social media video series than the stuffy, scripted format of an interview show. We ran the numbers on the latter theory, and here's what we found. While Colbert's show is the top rated at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT, it was losing a reported $40 million a year, so Paramount's "purely financial" explanation for the cancellation is at least partly true. Network TV has been receding from the spotlight for nearly a decade, as streaming continues to balloon. As late-night TV becomes more expensive and less profitable every year, ratings sink and costs go up, presenting for the genre an apocalyptic financial bind. YouTube clips may be viral, but they don't make up for the revenue lost as live viewership declines. Colbert, also was perhaps the least-viral of his peers, with hosts like NBC's Jimmy Fallon or ABC's Jimmy Kimmel pushing out more click-happy material to YouTube and social media. Still, Colbert claimed the largest number of viewers. Nielsen ratings show "Late Show" leading the pack so far in 2025 in the 11:35 p.m. hour, with an average of 2.4 million viewers for the first six months of 2025, down from 2.8 million for all of 2022. ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and NBC's "Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" were far behind in that metric, averaging 1.8 million (down from 1.6 million for the full year 2022) and 1.2 million (down from 1.5 million), respectively. Kimmel is replaced by guest hosts during the summer. Despite Colbert's dominance over his peers, his ratings have dropped steadily year over year. The fact that he has the biggest slice of the pie may then be moot, as the pie as a whole continues to shrink. Notably, "Gutfeld!" Fox News' raunchy, right-wing late-night show hosted by comedian Greg Gutfeld is now the number one show during wee-hours, seeing the rare ratings increase while his left-leaning peers on the other major networks continue to slide. The political juxtaposition may throw a bone to the other side, signaling a different political mood among network television audiences during Trump's second term. Regardless, Colbert's cancellation offers a canary in the coal mine of old-school TV programming – should CBS have had either the political or financial will to keep the "Late Show" on the air, it would have needed to shake up the format eventually, or dramatically cut costs. Back in 2014, Netflix only had three original series. Now the streaming bundling universe has eaten up much of entertainment. No one can predict what TV will look like 10 years from now. But if Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, the Jimmys, or any other late-night host wants to go for longevity, they'll have to evolve. Contributing: Kelly Lawler
New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
FCC Chair rips Stephen Colbert after his show's abruptly canceled: He ‘clearly doesn't have it anymore'
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ripped comedian Stephen Colbert after his late-night show was abruptly canceled, claiming that the veteran TV host 'clearly doesn't have 'it' anymore.' The head of the Federal Communications Commission is currently weighing a long-awaited deal between Skydance and CBS owner Paramount, which axed 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' and blamed it on purely 'financial reasons.' Oliver Darcy, the reporter behind the Status newsletter, said he texted Carr about rumors that he will approve the merger this Friday and received a late response from the chairman: 'Sorry. Missed your message. I was too emotional over the whole Colbert thing.' FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifying before Congress. Getty Images When asked whether Colbert telling President Trump to 'go f–k yourself' during his show threatened the future of the deal, Carr reportedly replied: 'lol, no.' 'I think it's just sad. Colbert clearly doesn't have 'it' anymore – if he ever did. I don't know if it's from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) or something else,' Carr told Darcy. 'He's paid millions of dollars to be funny and entertaining, and he's just not able to make it work. He's gotta feel bad about how the end is playing out.' CBS nodded to 'a challenging backdrop in late night,' but there's been speculation that the end of Colbert's 'Late Show' was part of the network's recent $16 million settlement with Trump over a heavily-edited '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris. There had been concerns that not settling Trump's lawsuit could halt the Skydance merger. Trump said Tuesday that he expects to receive a total of $36 million, including an additional $20 million from Skydance once it takes control of Paramount, confirming an exclusive report by The Post. Skydance did not immediately respond to requests seeking confirmation of this figure. Stephen Colbert on CBS' 'The Late Show.' CBS via Getty Images Celebrities and late-night hosts, including Jon Stewart, were quick to accuse CBS executives of capitulating to political pressure from Trump. 'The partisan left's ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert is quite revealing,' Carr wrote in a post on X Tuesday. 'They're acting like they're losing a loyal DNC spokesperson that was entitled to an exemption from the laws of economics.' Paramount and CBS News did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. News of the cancellation seems to have boosted Colbert's appeal for the time being, as last Thursday's episode drew 3.08 million viewers – making it the show's most-watched so far this year, according to LateNighter, a news site covering late-night television.
Geek Tyrant
16 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
Netflix Officially Renews WEDNESDAY for Season 3 and Plans Spin-Off Series — GeekTyrant
Netflix isn't done with the Addams family just yet. The streamer has officially renewed the hit supernatural comedy Wednesday for a third season, and that's not all… a spin-off series is also in development according to THR. This announcement comes ahead of the highly anticipated second season, which drops on Netflix August 6. The show's first season became a cultural phenomenon and shattered records, becoming the most-watched original series ever on the platform with over 250 million views. It also earned 12 Emmy nominations, including a nod for Jenna Ortega in the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category. Clearly, Wednesday is one of Netflix's biggest success stories. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Tim Burton serving as an executive producer, Wednesday offers a darkly comedic reimagining of the iconic Addams Family universe. The series follows Ortega as Wednesday Addams, who finds herself expelled from her old school and sent to Nevermore Academy, a private institution for outcasts. Along the way, she navigates murder mysteries, supernatural threats, and plenty of quirky characters. The show also features Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, and Riki Lindhome. Myers, in particular, has skyrocketed in popularity and now leads the BBC and Netflix's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder . Season 2 is upping the stakes with an expanded cast. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez, and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo have been promoted to series regulars, while new faces like Billie Piper, Steve Buscemi, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, and Noah Taylor join the lineup. No release date for Season 3 yet, but given the massive popularity of Wednesday and the spin-off plans, it's clear Netflix is building a spooky little empire around the Addams family legacy.
