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It's not just Colbert — network late-night TV is dead

It's not just Colbert — network late-night TV is dead

New York Post6 days ago
Everybody was shocked — shocked! — when Stephen Colbert announced this week that CBS canceled 'The Late Show.'
The despondent media reacted like a meteor was about to smash into Earth.
But how surprising was Colbert's kibosh really?
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Did peoples' jaws also hit the floor when Blockbuster Video called it quits in 2014?
Were they muffling their screams when blimps were phased out for air travel in 1937?
'What do you mean 'no more silent films'?!'
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The end of 'The Late Show' was every bit as writ-in-stone as any of those predictable downfalls.
And it's not only Colbert. The Grim Reaper is coming for all of late-night TV. Those comedians in neckties are just ignoring Death's deafening knock.
The retro programs, which began in the 1950s as an experiment to fill time, have far too tiny a viewership to justify their exorbitant cost anymore.
The Post reported Friday that Colbert's talk show was losing $40 to $50 million per year. The Times watered down those figures to mere 'tens of millions.'
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Awfully hard to blame Trump for that.
4 Colbert's show was reportedly losing $40-50 million a year.
CBS via Getty Images
True, 'The Late Show' was beating the competition with 2.42 million nightly viewers on average during the first quarter. But just 9% of those eyeballs were in the 18-49 demo that advertisers covet.
That means no ad dollars because young people couldn't care less.
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And why would they?
They've got YouTube and TikTok to scroll through after dark.
4 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' likely won't be too far behind.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
The funniest story of the week by a mile was Astronomer CEO Andy Byron getting caught on the jumbotron kiss cam canoodling with his head of HR at a Coldplay concert.
I even chuckled as I typed it.
Fifteen years ago, Americans would've turned to David Letterman and Conan O'Brien to mock the horny halfwits.
Now, social media does it faster and funnier than Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers ever could.
Shake up the format all you want, but a fixed 11:30 p.m. show with commercial breaks on a dusty, old, censored network can't compete with instant, razor-sharp reactions from billions.
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Could chats with A-List stars keep the struggling shows afloat?
Hah. The five-minute, skim-the-surface interview is a thing of the past, too. Celebrities are way overexposed, and promotional appearances present them at their fakest and least likable.
That's why podcasts like 'Good Hang with Amy Poehler' and 'Las Culturistas' with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, which can be listened to for free at any time of day, are so popular. They give you a casual, revealing full hour with big names.
Sensing the sea change, top talent keeps choosing headphones over TV sets.
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4 Escalating politics have been just one problem for late-night TV.
CBS via Getty Images
The escalating politics of late night are often called out as the chief offender. And they were a thorn, to be sure. But their slant is not the No. 1 problem anymore.
Think about it. Gen Z and Millennials aren't steering clear of talk shows because the hosts are too left-leaning.
The simple truth is these monologue-couch-desk affairs are behind-the-times museum exhibits that today's audience has a dwindling connection to.
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'The Late Late Show with James Corden' was the first major casualty. Now, the guillotine has dropped on CBS' former crown jewel. NBC's 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' and 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' won't be far behind.
Yes, I know the politically driven cable shows like 'The Daily Show' and 'Gutfeld' are chugging along. They're different animals.
Undeniably, the network workhorses that were once for everybody are now for nobody.
4 The biggest story from late-night TV this week was about a 16-year-old interview conducted by David Letterman.
CBS via Getty Images
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It's telling that, aside from Colbert's walking papers, just one big-ish story has come out of late-night TV all month.
That was cuckoo Joaquin Phoenix apologizing for his uncomfortable stunt interview with David Letterman, the first 'Late Show' host, back in 2009.
It's a reminder of how vital late-night TV used to be. A 16-year-old interaction with a totally different man is still a hotter topic than anything the new guys can drum up.
I'd suggest Letterman return for a 'Top 10 Reasons Late-night Shows Are Disappearing' list.
But he'd only need one.
Nobody's watching them.
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The beauty of Bill Joel? Unlike with so many stars, there's no myth-building
The beauty of Bill Joel? Unlike with so many stars, there's no myth-building

New York Post

time22 minutes ago

  • New York Post

The beauty of Bill Joel? Unlike with so many stars, there's no myth-building

Normally, if you see someone's four wives all speaking about them on TV, it's a safe bet you're watching a 'Dateline' murder mystery. So it's astonishing to witness all three of Billy Joel's exes appear as well as his current wife in the documentary 'And So It Goes,' the second episode of which premieres Friday at 8 p.m. on HBO. Heck, even his former bandmate Jon Small is a frequent voice in the film. Small was married to Elizabeth Weber when the Piano Man and Weber fell in love. Advertisement The fallout from that triangle led Joel to attempt suicide, and he says he felt like a 'homewrecker.' But Small 'finally got over it' — and even went on to direct the music video for 'Uptown Girl.' 8 Last summer, Billy Joel ended his long running residency at Madison Square Garden. Getty Images I cannot account for his personal interactions and how he's still on good terms with all these people, but it says a lot about the man. Forgiveness is complicated. Advertisement And so is self-examination. But Joel, who has an inherent likability, seems to be well-practiced in the art. Not that he didn't give the women in his life agita. Much of his marital strife was fueled by alcohol abuse, and much of that was well documented in the press over the years. 'Some of the stupid stuff I did, that's painful to talk about,' the 76-year-old recently told People magazine, adding that directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin 'asked me for some thematic guidance. I said, 'Just tell the truth.'' 8 HBO's two-part documentary 'And So It Goes' explores the life and music of Billy Joel. Advertisement What's interesting is not just his story but the way he tells it, and the way he let the filmmakers have free rein. Lacy said they were given 'complete and utter independence' by the singer-songwriter. Unlike with so many stars, there's no myth-building at play. There's no artifice. As told in the documentary, his remarkable life can be summed up by the opening anecdote. Joel, who grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, recalls working on an oyster boat as a young man. He'd look up a sprawling mansion and sneer at the 'rich bastards' who lived there. 8 In the 1980s, Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley were the biggest celebrity power couple — and she was his muse. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Advertisement 'Well, I own that house now,' he said. It doesn't come off as an arrogant mic drop, but rather a 'pinch me' moment. And while he famously has a song called 'Angry Young Man,' it's the fact that he remained a man of the people that's been the key to his success. He is not, as Bruce Springsteen notes in the film, 'an angry activist man. He never directly goes there. Which is part of why the material hasn't dated.' 8 Billy Joel started taking piano lessons as a young boy in Hicksville, Long Island. 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Vogue's AI Guess Models Explained: Interview
Vogue's AI Guess Models Explained: Interview

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timean hour ago

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Vogue's AI Guess Models Explained: Interview

Earlier this week, TikTok user @lala4an posted a video with an observation about the August issue of Vogue. Inside, there was an ad for Guess's chevron dress, modeled by an otherwise unassuming (but, of course, gorgeous) blonde woman with a slim, hourglass figure. However, a look at the small print revealed something surprising: "Produced by Seraphinne Vallora on AI." The revelation that AI models were inside the pages of Vogue quickly went viral, with the video amassing over 2 million views in three days. As the TikTok found its way across other platforms, much of the response was, in a word, negative. So, who is Seraphinne Vallora? Go on their Instagram, which has over 220k followers, and you'll see hundreds of smooth-skinned women with high cheekbones and plump lips (the caveat being that all of these images are AI-generated). In their own words, courtesy of their bio, "We design editorial level AI-driven marketing campaigns and cinematic videos. 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As Andreea put it, "Paul is a very fearless man. He's a trendsetter. So he decided, 'I like this, I want it.' Eventually, I really believe many other companies will go for this." Valentina says they're the "first AI-driven campaign to be published worldwide," in 20 storefronts across Europe and an additional 30 magazines. I asked them why a brand like Guess, which has a presumably ample budget, would opt for AI. "When Paul hired us, he told us very clearly, 'I'm not looking to replace our models.' He wants to supplement, because they have so many product campaigns that can take a very, very long time to plan, so he can only do a few campaigns every year," she recalled. "Meanwhile, with AI, it could be faster. You don't need to arrange any traveling, you don't need permits. You don't need any of these to create beautiful images." 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David Letterman On Colbert's Firing: ‘This Is Pure Cowardice'
David Letterman On Colbert's Firing: ‘This Is Pure Cowardice'

Forbes

timean hour ago

  • Forbes

David Letterman On Colbert's Firing: ‘This Is Pure Cowardice'

SNL50: THE RED CARPET — Pictured: David Letterman on Sunday, February 16, 2025 — (Photo by: Theo ... More Wargo/NBC via Getty Images) One week after Stephen Colbert announced CBS would be canceling his Late Show, the late-night program's original host, David Letterman, has weighed in. Letterman, who began Late Show in 1993 upon his move from NBC to CBS, shared his thoughts on his official YouTube channel Friday, speaking with longtime colleagues Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Colbert took the Late Show reins from Letterman in 2015, continuing to host the show from New York's historic Ed Sullivan Theater. He broke the news of the show's cancellation on his July 17 episode. A subsequent statement from CBS said the cancellation was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.' Count Letterman among that statement's many skeptics: 'This is pure cowardice,' he told Gaines and Barclay. 'Here's what I know: If they were losing this kind of money, you're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago. I'll bet they were losing this kind of money six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money. They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman, 78, echoed sentiments that Colbert's removal had to do with appeasing the Trump Administration, as CBS corporate parent Paramount aims to complete a $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Though he once welcomed President Trump on his show in 2015, Colbert has long been one of his harshest critics on television. 'For Stephen, I love this," Letterman said. "He's a martyr…and if you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction.' He had less reverence for Skydance Media founder David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison--referring to the pair as 'The Oracle Twins." 'Why don't they just go buy the Dairy Queen or something? Stay out of this business.' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is set to conclude its 11-year run in May of 2026. It was recently nominated for Outstanding Talk Series at the 77th annual Emmy Awards.

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