Seth Meyers worries for the future of his late night show because of ever-changing TV ‘ecosystem'

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4 days ago

Seth Meyers, who has hosted 'Late Night' on NBC for over a decade, spoke on this week's episode of the 'Armchair Expert' podcast about dealing with the uncertainty that comes with hosting a show. (Lloyd Bishop/NBC/Getty Image via CNN Newsource)
When it comes to late-night television, Seth Meyers knows the future is largely out of your control.
Meyers, who has hosted 'Late Night' on NBC for over a decade, spoke on this week's episode of the 'Armchair Expert' podcast about dealing with the uncertainty that comes with hosting a program.
'There is this weird thing that I feel like I shifted from fearing that I wouldn't be good enough and now my fear is weirdly more outside of my control, which is (that) just at some point the ecosystem might not support it,' Meyers told hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on the podcast, which was recorded before the recent cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' 'I guess that's better than thinking it's your fault, but it is weird to not feel any control over it.'
Meyers said his big takeaway from his experience on the late-night program is just to 'show up and do the work.'
'That's the only part they're paying you to do, that's the only part you're good at,' he said.
Meyers acknowledged that while the TV business has evolved since his show debuted, he's grateful that 'at least I got in.'
'The world knows Seth Meyers in a way that I'm happy with. I've taken my opportunity to build a thing,' he said. 'I know what it means and I think other people know what it means. So I'm happy about that.'
In a Story posted to Instagram after Colbert's show was cancelled, Meyers called him a 'great' comedian and host and 'an even better person.'
'I'm going to miss having him on TV every night. but I'm excited he can no longer use the excuse that he's 'too busy to hang out' with me,' he wrote.
Earlier this month, CBS announced the network was cancelling 'The Late Show' citing financial reasons, but the move drew much criticism and speculation.
Colbert has long been an outspoken critic of Trump and has been making jokes about CBS's motives for axing his show since it happened.
The show's cancellation came weeks after CBS's parent company Paramount entered into a US$16 million settlement agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump to resolve Trump's lawsuit against '60 Minutes.' And just last week, Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount received approval from federal regulators.
On Tuesday, Trump denied that he was 'solely responsible for the firing' of Colbert, writing on Truth Social, 'The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE.'
CNN has reached out to CBS for comment.
'The Late Show' has been on the air since 1993 when David Letterman served as host before Colbert took over in 2015, will end in the spring of 2026.
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN