It all amounts to strong comedy community support for a nice guy who is going to be looked back on as either a legit free speech martyr or a corporate comedy cautionary tale, depending on how these next few months go. Either way, there is no happy ending for Colbert. He and his staff are losing their jobs no matter what, but he is committed to giving Team Late Show a chance to hold their heads high on the way out.
On multiple occasions this week, Colbert pushed back on the official narrative about CBS’ “purely financial” decision and the floated figure of $40 million in deficits that his show was supposedly running. There was also the appearance of a cartoon Trump embracing the Paramount logo in a Coldplay kiss-cam mocking bit that included cameos by a gaggle of NYC-based late-night hosts and others (guaranteeing maximum exposure for a bit that got broad pick-up). In addition to that bit of revenge and other swipes at Paramount, Colbert also seemed to make fun of Trump with amplified vigor, no doubt helped by a week of headlines filled with tantrums and shocking headlines tied to the Epstein controversy, which doesn’t seem to be fading. The antagonistic cherry on top had to be Colbert’s shout-out to South Park, showcasing the corpulent nude Trump deep fake from that show’s season premiere and throwing up a chyron with a QR code directing people to watch the whole thing.
In a lot of ways, Colbert is creating a blueprint for the rest of late-night after losing the first battle of a war that the other hosts are going to stay locked into after he’s off the air next spring. It’s a plan fellow Paramount employee Jon Stewart laid out in his Monday episode of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, urging those who “bend the knee” to Trump and operate in precompliance to “sack up” while encouraging everyone to fight back. So, clearly, career jeopardy be damned, Stewart isn’t going to let up until he gets forcibly yanked off the air.
I don’t get the sense that Seth Meyers or Jimmy Kimmel are going to hold back, either, even if the finances of late-night and television might create a bit of “there but for the grace of God go I” reflection with this whole Colbert situation. And while late-night comedians taking a stand isn’t going to save us, it keeps a flame lit instead of accepting the cooling of dissent and political satire. It’s also going to piss off Trump. Especially if late-night hosts help keep the Epstein conversation going and going.
One of the most annoying aspects of Trump’s time in power is that he’s been able to constantly turn the page on controversies that would have sunk other politicians. He does this by relying on the short attention span of the media and their reflexive willingness to move on from stories that might otherwise develop into something bigger if people had the chance to catch their breath when watching the news. With Epstein, however, there seems to be a renewed sense of patience, following each development despite some pretty blatant attempts at distraction and authoritarian huffs and stomps. Late-night can and should keep amplifying that story – in service to political comedy’s mission, in solidarity with Colbert, in defiance of entities that might prefer the supposed safety of doing nothing, and because it’s the right thing to do.
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