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USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Stephen Colbert is out at CBS. Is all of late-night TV officially doomed?
This certainly isn't the future that Stephen Colbert had in mind for himself. The host of CBS' "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" announced on July 17 that he only has one year left of monologues from New York's Ed Sullivan Theater. And it's not just him who's leaving. "This is all just going away," the comedian, 61, told his appalled audience, explaining that he's not being replaced, but the show will air its final episode in May 2026. "Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending 'The Late Show.'" The news sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, which has accepted late-night TV shows like "Late Show" and NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" as an immutable fact, not an optional part of the network lineup. The idea that a series as long-running and culturally ingrained as "Late Show," an institution on the network since David Letterman defected from NBC to create it in 1993, could simply go away is as unfathomable as the idea of CBS itself going away. Or is it? It's 2025, not 1993, and late-night TV is becoming more expensive and less profitable every year, as ratings sink and costs go up. YouTube clips may be viral, but they don't make up for the revenue lost as live viewership declines. It was always a question of when – not if – late-night TV would cease to exist in its traditional form. But nobody expected it to happen quite so soon. This is the end of an era, a moment in Hollywood history that will be remembered: There was the time before Colbert was canceled and after. And it remains to be seen if any of his remaining late-night compatriots – Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart – will survive on the air in the years to come. Why is CBS canceling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'? After Colbert's jaw-dropping on-air announcement, viewers had only one question: Why? If you ask CBS' parent company, Paramount, it's simply about the math. "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," Paramount and CBS executives says. "We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late-night television." "Other matters happening at Paramount" is the operative phrase in the statement, an oblique reference to the company's current efforts to finalize an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, which requires regulatory approval from the federal government. And Colbert is an outspoken critic of President Trump's administration. Hardly a night goes by in which Colbert doesn't use his "Late Show" stage to poke at the president. And even his own parent company is not immune from Colbert's ire. Just three days before he revealed the cancellation news, Colbert used his bully pulpit to sharply criticize Paramount for what he saw as capitulating to Trump, after CBS News settled a defamation lawsuit with the president for $16 million. Colbert called it a "big fat bribe," an effort to smooth the way for the Skydance merger. "As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended,' he said. 'And I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help.' Paramount also owns Comedy Central, which airs the equally anti-Trump "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart and other comedians. The company hasn't said anything lately about the future of that political late-night series, which (along with "Late Show" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live") just received a 2025 Emmy nomination for best talk series. The CEO of Paramount's hopeful new owner Skydance is David Ellison, who happens to be the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire chairman of Oracle who has hosted a fundraiser for President Trump on his property and donated to Republican-friendly super-PACs. Is this the end of late night TV as we know it? Critics and analysts are furiously debating whether the "Late Show" cancellation was truly a financial move or more politically motivated, but whatever the ultimate truth, it doesn't affect the trajectory of the late-night genre: Colbert will be gone in 10 months, and the other dominoes could start to fall. CBS recently ended its 12:30 a.m. series, comedy panel show "After Midnight," after just over a year, when host Taylor Tomlinson decided to leave in favor of her standup career. NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" recently axed its live, in-studio band as a cost-cutting measure. "Tonight Show" went from five nights a week to four in 2024, joining the other late-night shows. ABC's Jimmy Kimmel routinely threatens to leave the grind of late-night behind. Conan O'Brien, who briefly inherited the "Tonight Show" throne, has moved from decades of traditional late night TV on NBC and later TBS to the low-fi world of podcasting. Samantha Bee's TBS talk show was also canceled. We are far from the days of Johnny Carson as America's father figure lulling us to sleep each night, or even of Letterman and Jay Leno trading barbs and competing for millions of viewers at 11:35 p.m. There was a time when late-night TV was our pop-culture North Star, and the hosts were tastemakers and star-makers. Now the genre is well known as a a difficult financial sell and viewed mostly by older viewers who are less appealing to advertisers. YouTube clips can garner a few hundred thousand views, sure, but even the one-time viral video king Fallon doesn't get tens of millions of hits anymore. Generation Z and millennials are increasingly turning to short-form video platforms like TikTok. The monologue, two guests and a band format is stilted, unyielding and increasingly a marker of the past. If Colbert can't survive this landscape, it's not clear if anyone can. According to citing Nielsen ratings, "Late Show" was leading the pack in ratings so far in 2025. The show wins the 11:35 pm hour with an average of 2.417 million viewers for the three months ended in June. Kimmel and Fallon were far behind in that metric, averaging 1.77 million and 1.19 million, respectively, although Kimmel is replaced by guest hosts during the summer. What's next for Stephen Colbert? Colbert rose to fame on "The Daily Show" in the 2000s, playing a right-wing conservative character as satire that he kept going on spinoff "The Colbert Report" for nearly a decade, from 2005-14. He took over "Late Show" in 2015 after Letterman's retirement from the program in a much ballyhooed transition that coincided with other shifts in late night, including Fallon's 2014 takeover "Tonight" from Jay Leno. With a different pair of eyeglasses and stripped of his faux persona, the world met the real Colbert for the first time, and he quickly developed a comfortable routine. Political punchlines dominated his nightly monologues, with openly anti-Trump sentiments for the duration of the president's first term and the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections. His standup is followed by the traditional easygoing celebrity interviews and musical performances. With his political-comedy chops, Colbert hosted more politicians, newscasters and thinkers than Fallon ever has on his gimmick-and-game-happy "Tonight." On July 17, Colbert welcomed Senator Adam Schiff, the California Democrat. But in spite of his penchant for political barbs, many of Colbert's segments are surprisingly soft and heartfelt, whether he's nerding out over "The Lord of the Rings," "Severance" and "Star Wars" or sharing the stage with wife Evelyn in one of her frequent cameos. There ware no indicators that Colbert was ready to slow down on "Late Show." His appearances are routinely energetic and whip-smart; no fatigue has crept into his comedy, and there was no reason to believe that he couldn't have keep doing "Late Show" for another decade. Of course, CBS had other ideas. Now he's soon to be a comedian without a stage, the town crier without a box on which to stand and shout. But it's unlikely he'll remain idle after he takes his final bow. His options are likely to be multifold, from podcasting like O'Brien to a streaming or cable series like Stewart or Letterman, although streamers have not yet successfully cracked the talk-show format, and anything with Colbert will likely come with a hefty salary. His former "Daily Show" colleague John Oliver has found great success on HBO with Emmy-winning "Last Week Tonight." Or Colbert could come up with something all his own. Nobody had done anything like "Report" before he tried it. But Colbert isn't making any plans yet, at least not publicly. He's still mourning what he's about to lose. "I'm so grateful (to CBS) for giving me this chair," he told viewers. "It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else else was getting it. It's a job I'm looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months. It's going to be fun. Y'all ready?" Ready or not, the next 10 months will usher in a new era in TV. But hopefully we won't stop hearing Colbert's opinions about it and everything else. His voice is too funny, too smart and too important to go quietly into the night.
Elle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Lola Tung Reveals How This Taylor Swift Moment Almost Made Her ‘Pass Out'
THE RUNDOWN Lola Tung is a true Swiftie. During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with her co-stars Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney, Tung spoke about a sweet encounter she had with Taylor Swift. Though she hasn't yet met Swift officially, she said she did attend the Eras Tour with Jenny Han, the creator of The Summer I Turned Pretty and the author of the 2009 novel of the same name. 'We were right by the stage when she played 'False God,' which was also on the show,' Tung said. 'She looked at us, waved, and was like, 'I love you guys' and did a little heart [with her hands]. I nearly passed out. It was great.' Tung also shared her favorite Swift songs: 'The Way I Loved You,' 'Delicate,' and 'You Belong With Me.' Fallon agreed with her picks, adding that 'Delicate' is his 'jam' and that his other favorite is 'the last great american dynasty.' Swift songs have become a huge part of the Prime Video series. For its first season, her song 'This Love (Taylor's Version)' was included in the trailer. Swift shared the trailer on Instagram at the time, writing: 'Thank you @jennyhan for debuting my version of This Love in the trailer for @thesummeriturnedpretty!! I've always been so proud of this song and I'm very 🥺🥺🥺 about this turn of events.' Since then, several of her songs have appeared in the series, including 'Back to December (Taylor's Version)' and 'August.' The third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream now. Watch Tung's full appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon below:
CNN
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
The LA farmer's market where celebrities are as plentiful as the produce
Even if you have never been to Los Angeles, you may still harbor a subconscious awareness of Studio City Farmers Market. There, amongst the 85 organic produce vendors, did paparazzi first snap Jeremy Allen White back in 2023 straining against the weight of freshly-cut flowers the size of his torso — a sight that has since become a viral sensation. So memorable is that sighting of White that it was even raised during a recent appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.' 'You're always carrying giant bouquets of flowers everywhere you are, I love it. It's your thing,' said Fallon. 'I have this farmer's market near my house,' White said. 'It's on Sundays and I just love going there, I love having flowers in my house.' Apparently, so does every other celebrity within a 20 mile radius of the southeast San Fernando Valley, where Studio City Farmers Market — an LA institution that has been running since 1998, and White's farmers' market of choice — is located. So common are famous faces (Anne Hathaway, Jacob Elordi, Paris Hilton, Elle Fanning, Anwar Hadid and Barbara Palvin, to name a few) that Yelp reviews of the market often include an elated description of an A-lister sighting. On Getty alone, over 700 images are geotagged inside the space; while image platform Alamy features more than 4,000 photos shot there. Appetite for the market is growing, according to executive director of Studio City Chamber of Commerce, Esther Walker. Each week, she fields between five and ten vendor applications from growers and small businesses keen to sell at the storied location. First-time traders need not apply, Walker told CNN earlier this year, in light of the footfall of a few thousand that descend each week — which, for less experienced vendors, can be 'overwhelming.' 'Business is always nice for our vendors, but it is an extremely popular farmer's market,' she said. 'We're very crowded.' Despite White's recent endorsement of the market on prime-time TV, star power has always been part of Studio City's story. Walker began working for the Chamber of Commerce in 2007, just one year before the market's organizers made the decision to hire professional security. 'The reason was because we had so many issues with paparazzi,' she said. 'We had some really aggressive paparazzi that were following around actor parents with their kids and made them feel uncomfortable. We just felt like we needed to do something.' Currently, the market employs three security staff members, as well as three undercover security guards — all retired police officers. Paparazzi attitudes have evolved, however. 'I would say that the issues we had about 15 years ago don't really exist now,' said Walker. 'They tend to be a little more respectable, and they stay further away.' For Mike Arnoldi, an LA-based celebrity photographer, Studio City Farmers Market has been a certified hunting patch since it opened almost three decades ago. 'There's always been a steady flow of celebrities,' he said in a phone call. 'It just changes who's going to be there.' Back in the day, it was 'In Cold Blood' (1967) actor Robert Blake or James Franco, recalled Arnoldi. Now, it's White, Hilary Duff and 'Pretty Little Liars' actor Lucy Hale who he sees the most. Walker, who once swiftly recognized the market's A-lister clientele, such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, admitted that she was less familiar with the newer generation of stars who visit today. 'We get a lot of celebrities that my younger staff say, 'Oh my god, that's so-and-so from some show,'' she said. 'But I have no idea who they are.' Arnoldi — who counts himself one of the best celebrity spotters in the business — will start his day at the farmer's market around 9am and work straight through to 1pm, photographing on average around 20 different people. 'I shoot about 1,500 photos there, and then we narrow it down to about 40 that get sent out (to agencies like Getty and Backgrid).' His photos of White have been among the most lucrative, selling for around $400 each. Other celebrity shots can vary anywhere from a nickel to $20 — a far cry from the couple thousand dollars a photographer might receive for a single film image, before the advent of digital cameras. Any images that feature children, Arnoldi says, are not distributed. While it's not illegal, he considers profiting off the photos of children 'unethical' and urges his staff to do the same. Related vertical video With $10 million, you can buy a private island… or this handbag Not every celebrity wants their grocery run broadcast to the world, however. Lindsay Dix, who runs the bone broth stand ReBroth at Studio City with her business partner Mia Roe, says she has met most of her famous clients at the market — though several now order privately and have the soup delivered to their home. Not only is it more convenient, but it also prevents them from being 'out and chased around by the paparazzi,' she said. Dix added there's another reason for privacy, too: 'I used to do celebrity catering for 20 years, and a lot of people that claim to be vegan or vegetarian actually did eat meat.' Still, Arnoldi (who has made friends with many of the subjects of his images) has a handful of A-listers who feel differently. Some, he said, even call to give him a heads-up that they will be there on a particular day, bushels of lettuce in hand, hoping to be photographed.
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Gina Rodriguez is pregnant, expecting baby No. 2 with husband Joe LoCicero
Welcome to Chapter 2. Gina Rodriguez and her husband Joe LoCicero are expecting their second child. The 'Jane the Virgin' star, 40, debuted her baby bump while on the red carpet for Netflix's 'Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3' fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday. 8 Gina Rodriguez debuts her baby bump. Roger Wong/INSTARimages 8 Gina Rodriguez and Joe LoCicero smile as he holds her baby bump. Nancy Rivera / Rodriguez and LoCicero, 38, who welcomed son Charlie in 2023, smiled as they cradled the 'Will Trent' star's stomach. The couple's news comes six years after they tied the knot in 2019. Rodriguez and LoCicero first met in 2016 when the actor played a stripper during season two of 'Jane the Virgin.' However, the two didn't get together until after their initial episode. 8 Gina Rodriguez and Joe LoCicero on the 'Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3' fight red carpet. Christian Lora/Image Press Agency/Abaca Press/INSTARimages 'It was the boxing gym that brought [us] together,' the CW star said while on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' in 2019. Turns out, when Rodriguez and LoCicero met a second time, she didn't even recognize him. 'He came in through the door and I was like, 'Good God!' and I fell into his eyeballs,' she gushed to Bust Magazine in 2017. 'On the fourth day [that we saw each other at the gym], he asked me out, and I have been dating him ever since. Now I know what it means to date your best friend.' 8 Gina Rodriguez poses while pregnant with her first son. Instagram/@hereisgina Both stars have kept their romance largely private over the years. While talking to Cosmopolitan in 2019, Rodriguez opened up about what makes their relationship different. She admitted that dating the 'Bold and the Beautiful' actor was a 'new experience for me because I put myself first.' 8 Gina Rodriguez and Joe LoCicero. 'For so long, I put every man in front of me,' Rodriguez explained. 'As a successful woman, it's so hard because of our cultural norms that, like, the man has to be the breadwinner! And the man has to be the more powerful one. It was so difficult for me to find a man who didn't want me to dim my light for his ego.' In 2022, LoCicero sweetly celebrated the news of becoming a father for the first time. 'The love of my life is now carrying the new love of my life inside of her!' he captioned an Instagram video of spiritual guru Sadhguru talking about kids. 'I am exploding with joy every minute of the day. I could not be more excited for this incredible responsibility! #pregnant.' 8 Joe LoCicero and his son Charlie. Instagram/thisisgina 8 Gina Rodriguez hold her son Charlie. instagram/thisischarlie On his first Father's Day, Rodriguez praised her partner-in-crime. 'I knew it when I met you that I found a man like no other,' she penned on Instagram beneath a series of family photos. 'When I walked down the aisle and you cried tears of joy, I knew I found someone extra special. I knew a great man would make a great dad.' The 'Not Dead Yet' alum has also shared glimpses of Charlie in small doses since his birth. 8 Gina Rodriguez pregnant with her first son. Instagram/@hereisgina 'I wanna post everything about him but I limit it,' Rodriguez confessed to People in January. 'I know at some point I'm gonna have to stop because it's his life, but I'm just so in love.' 'His communication is unbelievable,' she said about her toddler, 'and I'm so grateful for it because he communicates what he wants, what he needs, his boundaries—he's teaching me boundaries!'
India.com
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Spice Girls Star Mel B Marries Rory McPhee At Iconic St. Paul's Cathedral In London
London: The 'Spice Girls' star Mel B has tied the knot with hairstylist Rory McPhee. The wedding took place on Saturday, July 5, at The Crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral in London -- a venue known for hosting the wedding of Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles in 1981, reported People. The 50-year-old shared an adorable wedding picture on her Instagram where she and McPhee are seen lovingly looking at each other. She wore a custom ivory gown by designer Josephine Scott for the ceremony and later changed into a second dress by Justin Alexander. Take a look Mel B married her hairstylist yesterday?? GENIUS. — Nicole Nichelle (@alamanecer) July 5, 2025 "Mel was a dream to work with, bringing her own sense of style to the occasion," Caroline Black, the owner of Evelie Bridal Boutiques in London, who helped the musician pick out her wedding attire, told PEOPLE. According to the publication, the ceremony, the celebration continued with a grand reception at the Shangri-La Hotel inside The Shard, the tallest building in the U.K. Celebrities including Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Cara Delevingne, Katherine Ryan, and Daisy Lowe were among the guests. Mel B's three daughters -- Phoenix (26), Angel (18), and Madison (13) -- were her bridesmaids. The singer has been married twice before and has spoken openly about her experiences with domestic abuse. In 2022, she was awarded an MBE by Prince William for her work raising awareness around domestic violence. This honor allowed her to marry at the historic St. Paul's Cathedral. "It's a big deal because when you get married there -- not many people are allowed to get married there. You have to be kind of special," she shared in May on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, according to People. The wedding came just weeks after Mel B enjoyed a bachelorette party by the sea, joined by 36 of her close friends. The group, all in leopard-print swimsuits, danced together to Beyonce's "End of Time."
