One Friday night in 1996, I stayed up after watching the rugby league, just flicking channels. I landed on channel 10, and a tall guy was cracking a few jokes. It was David Letterman.
This was the night I discovered late-night talk shows. I loved every second of the show. Since I was still only 12, I could only watch Letterman on Fridays and Saturdays (that would be the Thursday and Friday editions of the show). My favourite segment was the top ten list.
In 1998, we got pay TV, and I experienced a new level of American late-night talk shows. I would watch both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. I loved both of them just as much as Letterman.
Embed from Getty ImagesOver the years, I would watch them on and off, my love and enjoyment never waning. When 2017 rolled around, my viewing habits changed. I signed up for Netflix and started streaming content. Over the years, I would add more streaming services. At this stage, I would only watch late-night clips on either YouTube or other social media platforms.
On Friday, news broke that CBS had cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with the show set to end in May 2026. People noted the timing of the news, Colbert criticised the CBS parent company, Paramount, for settling their lawsuit with American President Donald Trump. The settlement also coincides with Paramount seeking approval from the US Federal Communications Commission for a merger with Skydance Media, valued at $8.4 billion.
In a statement, George Cheeks, Co-CEO of Paramount Global, Amy Reisenbach, President and CEO of CBS, and David Stapf, President of CBS, announced that the reason for ending the Late Show’s historic run was a financial decision.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat does the future of late-night talk shows look like? It is honestly hard to say. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon is still going, but last year, NBC dropped the show to four nights a week. You also have Late Night with Seth Meyers, and of course, Jimmy Kimmel Live! Also, John Mulaney has a talk show on Netflix. I haven’t had the chance to watch that yet.
No matter what happens to the rest of the late-night shows, they will always hold a special place in my heart.