CBC Arts50%
Is the finale of The Late Show signaling the end of democracy? 62%
By Nathan Chizen0%
5/22/2026, 8:54:06 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Hasty Generalization, and Recency Bias, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 36.7% saturation with 254 hits. Analysis detected 1,457 faulty-reasoning hits from 692 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 57.6% and a BS Rank of 62% (6,433 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 61.70% of the article peer group.
Last night, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its final episode following its cancellation.
While the the network stated that it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night", their decision turned heads as the show was axed two days after Colbert spoke out against Paramount Global’s decision to settle a lawsuit laid against them by U.S. president Donald Trump.
Now, following a grand finale featuring guests like Byran Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Paul McCartney, another series is taking The Late Show’s place: Comics Unleashed.
Today on Commotion, TV critic Eric Deggans, comedian Ashley Ray and political columnist Justin Ling join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss the finale of The Late Show, Colbert’s impact within pop culture, and the apolitical series that will now be occupying its time slot.
We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity.
For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.
Elamin: I'm obligated to tell you that CBS maintains it pulled the plug on late night because of financial reasons.You are not obligated to believe that.
The network says there are just not enough viewers.
Justin, what do you make of that justification and the context around it?
Justin: One of my favourite little bits from the finale last night was — I can't even remember what the set-up was — Colbert [being] beloved by the creatures of the sea, and they smash cut to a dolphin saying “It was a financial decision!”
And it's just so stupid, but it is a perfect wink to that notion.
And so whether it's the comment about the bribe that his new parent company was paying to the Trump administration, whether it’s any other commentary that Colbert has made, [or] whether it was last night or the weeks and months prior, it is sort of a cloying and superficial and dumb commentary on the news.
But what is so useful about Colbert in particular is that the incredulous tone that he takes with everything has unfortunately met the moment.
It's the wisdom of the jester, right?
We need somebody standing up and saying, “This is a bribe.
Democracy might be ending, [and] we have a fragile little president who's attacking his critics and forcing them off of the air,”
because there's not many other people — like late night hosts — who can do that.
Because [late night hosts] are not really celebrities per se.
In the formal definition, sure.
But the fact that you watch Colbert fawn over actual celebrities gives you that really clear distinction.
[And] they're not newscasters either, obviously.
But yet, they're giving you what is probably the most entertaining and complete summation of the news that comes with that moral clarity of saying “Uh-oh, democracy is ending.”
I really don't think you can ignore how important that is, especially when you're talking about an audience somewhere in the 2.5 million-people-a-night range.
And for [Paramount] Skydance to then turn around and go, “Oh, well… he was losing a bit of money” — we actually don't even know [if] he was losing money.
We hear this number a lot: $45 million in the red for The Late Show.
That comes from one leak to Puck News from the network.
Other analysts have said it's probably maybe in the $20 million range.
But that is nothing for a show that is still anchoring late night, where you have nothing else [on] apart from the news [and] are convincing people to stay with cable.
[Paramount Skydance] is looking at $110 billion to acquire Warner Bros.
They do not care about a $20 million loss, especially if it's keeping people connected to cable.
It's just so offensive for them to even try it, and [the fact] that anyone is repeating it, I think, is just so unbelievably dumb.
You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Panel produced by Jessica Low.
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