The shocking cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night CBS show – it will be phased out in May 2026 – has many speculating about what led to the downfall of a man who was once seen as one of America’s most promising political satirists.

Some surmised that Colbert’s recent criticism of parent company Paramount’s settlement with President Donald Trump angered CBS into canning him. If true, this would make Colbert’s cancellation the result of an act of genuine media bravery.

But if we’re being honest, one reason for Colbert’s cancellation could be that he may no longer be as irreplaceable as he once was. In today’s hyper-politicized comedic landscape, where partisan alignment often matters more than originality, Colbert’s brand of center-left satire has lost much of its edge. What once felt transgressive during the Bush years now risks sounding predictable in a media ecosystem flooded with liberal late-night hosts.

The comedian, like many other comic giants before him, came out of the Chicago comedy scene — having trained alongside the legendary Del Close, who helped pioneer American improvisational comedy. This set Colbert off on a journey that included a role on Comedy Central’s popular political satire The Daily Show before ending up with his own program, The Colbert Report, where he played a sort of parody of Bill O’Reilly — an over-the-top conservative blowhard. It was important that Colbert played this role during the George W. Bush years, a time when the Republicans had hegemonic control over politics and massive sway over broader American culture.

The host’s satire of the American Right often felt like a bold act of defiance. His career peaked at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he stood before President Bush and mocked not just the administration but the press corps as well. Strikingly, the video shows almost no laughter from the audience.

That night, Colbert held up a mirror to official Washington and forced them to confront their own hypocrisy. He knew it would alienate his peers, but he understood the assignment: to speak truth to power and stand with the public, not the elite.

His CBS late-night show, by contrast, always played it a little too safe. Instead of reviving his satirical persona — which once gave him the freedom to say what others couldn’t — he slipped into the easier role of a conventional liberal Democrat, indistinguishable from the rest of the late-night crowd. Unlike his Comedy Central days, he became less a rebel against a hegemonic culture and more a mascot of the mainstream. Take his pandemic-era sketch, “The Vax Scene”, featuring a cringeworthy number with dancers dressed as syringes, encouraging viewers to get inoculated against Covid.

The cancellation of his show, however, gives Colbert a chance to reinvent himself once more. In the days since The Colbert Report, we’ve entered a sort of golden age of screwball and indie comedy. Nathan Fielder, for instance, who made his debut on Canada’s equivalent of The Daily Show (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), has pioneered entirely new forms of social commentary through his programs Nathan for You, which concluded around the time of Trump’s first election, and now The Rehearsal.

The last season of The Rehearsal saw Fielder acting out the life of hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger in order to try to understand how he performed the Miracle Over the Hudson — complete with strapping on a diaper to act as baby Sully. Though funny, Fielder used the episode to wage a serious critique of airline safety, similar to how Colbert would use his over-the-top persona to wage war against Bush and his media allies.

Colbert’s cancellation signals the close of a chapter, but also a chance to start fresh. The late-night show he once ruled doesn’t carry the same weight anymore, especially as younger viewers turn to comedians who mix satire with raw, experimental styles. The real question isn’t if he can get back to where he was, but if he’s ready to take on the powers which once gave him a platform.

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Zaid Jilani is a journalist who has worked for UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, The Intercept, and the Center for American Progress.

ZaidJilani

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