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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
End of an era: As CBS pushes Colbert out, a look back at the network's late-night history
Where CBS goes from here with its late night offerings we don't know yet. But here's a look at the network's timeline in that time slot, from the early years of Faye Emerson and Merv Griffin to the golden eras of Letterman and Colbert. Advertisement The early years: Before 'The Late Show' CBS's history with late-night TV shows goes back to 1949, when it first aired 'The Faye Emerson Show,' a groundbreaking, 15-minute program hosted by the eponymous star. The short-lived program was one of the first late-night talk shows, according to Advertisement In August 1969, the network revived 'The Merv Griffin Show,' which had initially aired on NBC from 1962 to 1963, and in syndication from 1965 to 1969. The series would air on CBS weeknights at 11:30 p.m. through 1972, before returning to first-run syndication until its cancelation in 1986 (its set, of course, would live on in infamy thanks to Kramer in a 1997 episode of 'Seinfeld'). Making barely a blip, 'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak had a The arrival of David Letterman and 'The Late Show' After early attempts at late-night shows didn't live up to ratings expectations, CBS finally found its big after-hours hit with the arrival of Letterman and 'The Late Show' in 1993. When NBC crowned Jay Leno its 'Tonight Show' successor over him, Letterman jumped ship for his own show at CBS, going head-to-head with Leno for years, as the late-night juggernauts battled in the ratings (with During his more than two decade tenure, Letterman turned 'The Late Show' into a cornerstone of CBS's programming with his irreverent humor, memorable interviews, and creative bits like his recurring 'Top Ten' lists. CBS expands with the launch of 'The Late Late Show' Importing another former NBC talk show host, CBS expanded its late-night programming in 1995 with the launch of 'The Late Late Show,' airing in the time slot after Letterman's show. With longtime newscaster Tom Snyder at the helm from 1995 to 1999, the show delivered serious interviews with stars and luminaries like George Carlin, David Lynch, and even Letterman. Snyder's dry style long provided fodder for comedic gold, with Dan Aykroyd doing impressions of him on 'Saturday Night Live.' Advertisement 'The Late Late Show' format pivoted to comedy when former 'The Daily Show' host and 'SportsCenter' anchor Craig Kilborn took over in 1999. Kilborn turned in a memorable, though similarly short, run as host, deciding to leave the show 2004. He told The Craig Ferguson era of 'The Late Late Show' CBS hit its sweet spot of late-night success in the early 2000s as Letterman continued to draw an audience, despite often losing in the ratings to Leno. Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson took over the desk at 'The Late Late Show' in 2005. Wacky, unpredictable, and filled with puppets and robot sidekicks (we still miss you Geoff Peterson), the Ferguson era is up there with Conan O'Brien's early run on NBC (and later run on TBS) when it comes to pushing the envelope of late-night comedy. Ferguson left 'The Late Late Show' in 2014, with Letterman leaving 'The Late Show' the following year, marking the end of an era at CBS. James Corden reinvents 'The Late Late Show' Love it or hate it, James Corden became 'The Late Late Show' host in 2015, reinventing the series with the introduction of a house band led by comedian and musician Reggie Watts, plus with a communal guest interview set-up more akin to Andy Cohen's 'Watch What Happens Live' on Bravo. Corden also turned the show into a viral sensation with his 'Carpool Karaoke' segments, driving around town singing tunes with famous musicians. Colbert takes 'The Late Show' baton from Letterman To fill Letterman's shoes, CBS bet on Colbert, who kicked off his 'Late Show' run in the fall of 2015. Colbert had earned acclaim and a cult following for playing a fictionalized version of himself as host of the political satire talk show 'The Colbert Report,' which aired on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014. The Emmy-winning series was a breakout role for Colbert, who had gotten noticed as a correspondent on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show.' Advertisement Paying homage to Letterman's legacy while bringing his polished brand of thoughtful, topical humor to the desk, Colbert rode his wave of popularity to the top when he joined 'The Late Show,' which continues to be a critical and ratings hit. According to Corden and 'The Late Late Show' bid farewell CBS pulled the plug on 'The Late Late Show' in 2023, replacing it briefly with the comedy talk series 'Comics Unleashed' hosted by Byron Allen. 'Comics Unleashed' had aired for years in syndication starting way back in 2006. The life and death of 'After Midnight' Just last year, CBS launched 'After Midnight' hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, its first female late night host since 1949, to air after Colbert's show on weeknights. The series featured Tomlinson in a bit of a game show host role, quizzing a trio of comedians and celebrities each episode with games centered around pop culture, memes, and other topics du jour. 'After Midnight' survived less than two years. CBS cancelled it in March, and Advertisement Curtains for Colbert and 'The Late Show' That brings us to Thursday's big shock. Colbert revealed to his studio audience that he'd just learned the news the night before about the show's cancelation; they responded by raining down boos and jeers. Amid the pending sale of parent company Paramount to Skydance Media, we don't know what the future holds for CBS's late night slot and Colbert after he exits next May. Since Paramount also owns Comedy Central, a reboot of 'The Colbert Report' seems unlikely. Speculation has only begun. Matt Juul can be reached at
Metro
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
One of the ‘greatest TV shows of all time' launched 36 years ago today
If a friend asked you, 'What's the greatest TV show ever made about?' how would you answer them? Would you explain how it's about a brutal crime boss going to therapy? Perhaps you'd say it follows a chemistry teacher who starts cooking meth to provide for his family? Maybe you'd tell them it's about a bunch of wannabe influencers seeking a brand deal… I mean, love in a villa? Whatever show you think is the best of the best, though I very much doubt you'd tell them it's about nothing. And yet, 36 years ago today, a show 'about nothing' premiered on NBC and changed television forever. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. I'm talking, of course, about Seinfeld, one of the most influential and important series ever made. If you never watched it, then 'NO SOUP FOR YOU! Okay, that's not fair. Allow me to explain the series' premise because it's not really about 'nothing'. The show follows a fictionalised version of Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) and follows him and his friends – George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) as they navigate life in New York City. Now, there are ongoing plots like Jerry getting his own TV show (yes, it gets very meta), and George's terrible love life, but for the most part, the show focuses on the little things in life. This meant you got entire episodes focused on things like finding a car in a multi-storey car park, characters' sex lives, or, most famously, trying to get some soup. Looking to get started with Seinfeld? Why not start here… 10. The Jimmy ( Season 6, Episode 18) – Elaine dates a man whose annoying habit of referring to himself in the third-person annoys Jerry. 9. The Hamptons (Season 5, Episode 2) – Jerry and his pals visit a friend in The Hamptons, and it goes as well as you'd expect. 8. The Betrayal (Season 9, Episode 8) – Jerry sleeps with a woman George is trying to date. 7. The Merv Griffin Show (Season 9, Episode 6) – Kramer decides to recreate the Merv Griffin Show in his apartment. 6. The Bizarro Jerry (Season 8, Episode 3) – Elaine meets a man who is Jerry's exact opposite. Marine Biologist (Season 5, Episode 14) – George starts dating a woman who's convinced he's a marine biologist. 4. The Outing (Season 4, Episode 17) – Elaine convinces a journalist that Jerry and George are dating. 3. The Opposite (Season 5, Episode 21) – George does the exact opposite of what he'd normally do. 2. The Soup Nazi (Season 7, Episode 6) – The gang try and get some soup. 1. The Contest (Season 4, Episode 11) – Jerry and friends make a competition out of self-control. These plots may sound mundane, but they were the secret to the show's success because they made the characters and their world incredibly relatable. Creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would then use this relatable world to make absolutely hilarious jokes and gags about the terribly recognisable gaffes and faux pas we all make on a daily basis. In a way, then, Seinfeld wasn't a show about nothing; it was a show about everything and everyone. Unsurprisingly, considering the brilliance of its premise, cast, and writing, Seinfeld was a huge hit, running for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998 and garnering legions of fans across the globe and turning Jerry into a household name. Indeed, the series' two-part finale was watched by 76.3 million people across America – making it the fourth-most watched series finale in US history. However, beyond the series' commercial and critical success, it had a major influence on the way TV was made. Arguably, the series' biggest influence is that it opened the door to TV shows about unlikable characters. Without Seinfeld, we definitely wouldn't have got Always Sunny or Peep Show, and there's an argument to be made that even stuff like The Sopranos owes a debt of gratitude to Jerry and his friends. Oddly, though, Seinfeld's biggest contribution to pop culture may be that it helped give us Friends. While Friends may be a far more traditional sitcom than Jerry's creation, the two share certain DNA – something that critics were keen to point out when Friends debuted, with some even labelling it a Seinfeld rip-off. Jerry himself has made several potshots at Friends for 'copying' his idea, once joking that the show is just Seinfeld 'with better-looking people'. Jerry's tongue-in-cheek comments aside, the real debt Friends owes Seinfeld is that Friends reruns often ran after Seinfeld, and this lead-in gave the show a massive boost in popularity. Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe on the show, once told The Daily Beast: 'It was in the summer when we were in reruns after Seinfeld, where Seinfeld was our lead-in, where we exploded.' 'I remember going to some party, and Jerry Seinfeld was there, and I said, 'Hi,' and he said, 'You're welcome,'' More Trending 'I said, 'Why, thank you…what?' Lisa continued. 'And he said, 'You're on after us in the summer, and you're welcome. I said, 'That's exactly right. Thank you.'' So I guess if it wasn't for Seinfeld there's an argument to be made there'd be NO FRIENDS FOR YOU! Watch all nine seasons of Seinfeld on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More » MORE: 'It's all I've been watching': TV fans crown the best streaming service MORE: WWE icon, 49, 'hasn't aged a day' in SmackDown return 25 years after debut MORE: Netflix has me hooked on this 'naughty' hidden gem Spanish period drama
The Independent
24-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
The quest to extend human life is not new – it's fraught with moral peril
'Who wants to live forever?' Freddie Mercury mournfully asks in Queen's 1986 song of the same name. The answer: Quite a few people – so much so that life extension has long been a cottage industry. As a physician and scholar in the medical humanities, I've found the quest to expand the human lifespan both fascinating and fraught with moral peril. During the 1970s and 80s, for example, The Merv Griffin Show featured one guest 32 times – life extension expert Durk Pearson, who generated more fan mail than any guest except Elizabeth Taylor. In 1982, he and his partner, Sandy Shaw, published the book 'Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach,' which became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and sold over 2 million copies. One specific recommendation involved taking choline and vitamin B5 in order to reduce cognitive decline, combat high blood pressure and reduce the buildup of toxic metabolic byproducts. Last year, Pearson died at 82, and Shaw died in 2022 at 79. No one can say for sure whether these life extension experts died sooner or later than they would have had they eschewed many of these supplements and instead simply exercised and ate a balanced diet. But I can say that they did not live much longer than many similarly well-off people in their cohort. Still, their dream of staying forever young is alive and well. Consider tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's 'Project Blueprint,' a life-extension effort that inspired the 2025 Netflix documentary 'Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.' His program has included building a home laboratory, taking more than 100 pills each day and undergoing blood plasma transfusions, at least one of which came from his son. And Johnson is not alone. Among the big names investing big bucks to prolong their lives are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page, and Oracle's Larry Ellison. One approach involves taking senolytics – drugs that target cells that may drive the aging process, though more research is needed to determine their safety and efficacy. Another is human growth hormone, which has long been touted as an anti-aging mechanism in ad campaigns that feature remarkably fit older people. ('How does this 69-year-old doctor have the body of a 30-year-old?' reads one web ad). These billionaires may reason that, because of their wealth, they have more to live for than ordinary folks. They may also share more prosaic motivations, such as a fear of growing old and dying. But underlying such desires is an equally important ethical – and, for some, spiritual – reality. Is it a good thing, morally speaking, to wish to live forever? Might there be aspects of aging and even death that are both good for the world and good for individuals? Cicero's 'On Aging' offers some insights. In fact, the ancient Roman statesman and philosopher noted that writing about it helped him to find peace with the vexations of growing old. In the text, Cicero outlines and responds to four common complaints about aging: It takes us away from managing our affairs, impairs bodily vigor, deprives us of sensual gratifications and brings us to the verge of death. To the charge that aging takes us away from managing our affairs, Cicero asks us to imagine a ship. Only the young climb the masts, run to and fro on the gangways, and bail the hold. But it is among the older and more experienced members of the crew that we find the captain who commands the ship. Rome's supreme council was called the Senate, from the Latin for 'elder,' and it is to those rich in years that we look most often for wisdom. As to whether aging impairs bodily vigor, Cicero claimed that strength and speed are less related to age than discipline. Many older people who take care of themselves are in better shape than the young, and he gives examples of people who maintained their vigor well into their later years. He argued that those who remain physically fit do a great deal to sustain their mental powers, a notion supported by modern science. Cicero reminds readers that these same pleasures of eating and drinking often lead people astray. Instead, people, as they age, can better appreciate the pleasures of mind and character. A great dinner becomes characterized less by what's on the plate or the attractiveness of a dining partner than the quality of conversation and fellowship. While death remains an inevitable consequence of aging, Cicero distinguishes between quality and quantity of life. He writes that it is better to live well than to live long, and for those who are living well, death appears as natural as birth. Those who want to live forever have forgotten their place in the cosmos, which does not revolve around any single person or even species. Those of a more spiritual bent might find themselves drawn to the Scottish poet George MacDonald, who wrote: 'Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.' What if the dreams of the life extension gurus were realized? Would the world be a better place? Would the extra good that a longer-lived Einstein could have accomplished be balanced or even exceeded by the harm of a Stalin who remained healthy and vigorous for decades beyond his death? At some point, preserving indefinitely the lives of those now living would mean less room for those who do not yet exist. Pearson and Shaw appeared on many other television programs in the 1970s and 1980s. During one such segment on 'The Mike Douglas Show,' Pearson declared: 'By the time you are 60, your immune function is perhaps one-fifth what it was when you were younger. Yet you can achieve a remarkable restoration simply by taking nutrients that you can get at a pharmacy or health food store.' For Pearson, life extension was a biomedical challenge, an effort more centered on engineering the self rather than the world. Yet I would argue that the real challenge in human life is not to live longer, but to help others; adding extra years should be seen not as the goal but a byproduct of the pursuit of goodness. In the words of Susan B. Anthony: 'The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled, the more I gain.'
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The quest to extend human life is both fascinating and fraught with moral peril
'Who wants to live forever?' Freddie Mercury mournfully asks in Queen's 1986 song of the same name. The answer: Quite a few people – so much so that life extension has long been a cottage industry. As a physician and scholar in the medical humanities, I've found the quest to expand the human lifespan both fascinating and fraught with moral peril. During the 1970s and 80s, for example, The Merv Griffin Show featured one guest 32 times – life extension expert Durk Pearson, who generated more fan mail than any guest except Elizabeth Taylor. In 1982, he and his partner, Sandy Shaw, published the book 'Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach,' which became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and sold over 2 million copies. One specific recommendation involved taking choline and vitamin B5 in order to reduce cognitive decline, combat high blood pressure and reduce the buildup of toxic metabolic byproducts. Last year, Pearson died at 82, and Shaw died in 2022 at 79. No one can say for sure whether these life extension experts died sooner or later than they would have had they eschewed many of these supplements and instead simply exercised and ate a balanced diet. But I can say that they did not live much longer than many similarly well-off people in their cohort. Still, their dream of staying forever young is alive and well. Consider tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's 'Project Blueprint,' a life-extension effort that inspired the 2025 Netflix documentary 'Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.' His program has included building a home laboratory, taking more than 100 pills each day and undergoing blood plasma transfusions, at least one of which came from his son. And Johnson is not alone. Among the big names investing big bucks to prolong their lives are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page, and Oracle's Larry Ellison. One approach involves taking senolytics – drugs that target cells that may drive the aging process, though more research is needed to determine their safety and efficacy. Another is human growth hormone, which has long been touted as an anti-aging mechanism in ad campaigns that feature remarkably fit older people. ('How does this 69-year-old doctor have the body of a 30-year-old?' reads one web ad). These billionaires may reason that, because of their wealth, they have more to live for than ordinary folks. They may also share more prosaic motivations, such as a fear of growing old and dying. But underlying such desires is an equally important ethical – and, for some, spiritual – reality. Is it a good thing, morally speaking, to wish to live forever? Might there be aspects of aging and even death that are both good for the world and good for individuals? Cicero's 'On Aging' offers some insights. In fact, the ancient Roman statesman and philosopher noted that writing about it helped him to find peace with the vexations of growing old. In the text, Cicero outlines and responds to four common complaints about aging: It takes us away from managing our affairs, impairs bodily vigor, deprives us of sensual gratifications and brings us to the verge of death. To the charge that aging takes us away from managing our affairs, Cicero asks us to imagine a ship. Only the young climb the masts, run to and fro on the gangways, and bail the hold. But it is among the older and more experienced members of the crew that we find the captain who commands the ship. Rome's supreme council was called the Senate, from the Latin for 'elder,' and it is to those rich in years that we look most often for wisdom. As to whether aging impairs bodily vigor, Cicero claimed that strength and speed are less related to age than discipline. Many older people who take care of themselves are in better shape than the young, and he gives examples of people who maintained their vigor well into their later years. He argued that those who remain physically fit do a great deal to sustain their mental powers, a notion supported by modern science. Cicero reminds readers that these same pleasures of eating and drinking often lead people astray. Instead, people, as they age, can better appreciate the pleasures of mind and character. A great dinner becomes characterized less by what's on the plate or the attractiveness of a dining partner than the quality of conversation and fellowship. While death remains an inevitable consequence of aging, Cicero distinguishes between quality and quantity of life. He writes that it is better to live well than to live long, and for those who are living well, death appears as natural as birth. Those who want to live forever have forgotten their place in the cosmos, which does not revolve around any single person or even species. Those of a more spiritual bent might find themselves drawn to the Scottish poet George MacDonald, who wrote: 'Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.' What if the dreams of the life extension gurus were realized? Would the world be a better place? Would the extra good that a longer-lived Einstein could have accomplished be balanced or even exceeded by the harm of a Stalin who remained healthy and vigorous for decades beyond his death? At some point, preserving indefinitely the lives of those now living would mean less room for those who do not yet exist. Pearson and Shaw appeared on many other television programs in the 1970s and 1980s. During one such segment on 'The Mike Douglas Show,' Pearson declared: 'By the time you are 60, your immune function is perhaps one-fifth what it was when you were younger. Yet you can achieve a remarkable restoration simply by taking nutrients that you can get at a pharmacy or health food store.' For Pearson, life extension was a biomedical challenge, an effort more centered on engineering the self rather than the world. Yet I would argue that the real challenge in human life is not to live longer, but to help others; adding extra years should be seen not as the goal but a byproduct of the pursuit of goodness. In the words of Susan B. Anthony: 'The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled, the more I gain.' This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Richard Gunderman, Indiana University Read more: How midlife became a crisis How old would you want to be in heaven? What the Voyager space probes can teach humanity about immortality and legacy as they sail through space for trillions of years Richard Gunderman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
