Samantha Bee Drops the Hammer on Colbert’s Cancelation — Calls CBS Decision a “No-Brainer” as Viewers Vanish

Former late-night host Samantha Bee has weighed in on CBS’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” describing the move as a “no-brainer” in the current entertainment landscape. Appearing on the “Breaking Bread with Tom Papa” podcast, Bee offered a pragmatic and candid perspective on the factors behind the show’s demise, citing both financial realities and shifting viewer habits.

Financial Pressures and Industry Shifts

During the podcast, host Tom Papa noted that “The Late Show” was reportedly losing $40 million a year, and suggested that CBS’s parent company was seeking to curry favor with the president amid the ongoing Paramount-Skydance merger.

Bee agreed, saying, “I think both things are true. It definitely was hemorrhaging money. These legacy shows are hemorrhaging money with no real end to that—in sight, people are just not tuning in.”

She highlighted the broader struggles faced by traditional late-night television, emphasizing that declining viewership has become an industry-wide issue. According to Bee, “People are literally on their phones all the time for one thing, so they actually don’t necessarily need a recap of the day’s events. They’re very well-versed in what has happened.”

Changing Viewing Habits

Bee pointed out that audiences today have a vastly different approach to entertainment compared to the heyday of late-night talk shows. She joked that viewers now prefer “people just absolutely murder each other in a South Korean game show” or “watching people fall off cliffs to relax at night before nodding off.” The comments underscore the rise of streaming platforms and unconventional content that have drawn viewers away from traditional network programming.

Politics and Corporate Mergers

In addition to financial woes, Bee acknowledged the political sensitivities surrounding major corporate mergers. She remarked, “It is also true that when the president of the United States has to give his sign off on a corporate merger, the thing you can’t do is make jokes about him. He’s a thin-skinned idiot and we know he’s like a pernicious cancer and he cares about that stuff.”

Reflecting on her own experience hosting “Full Frontal,” Bee recalled that mergers were a frequent topic of concern, especially when it came to avoiding controversy. “It was a constant source of conversation about not causing any trouble amid the multi-billion dollar transactions,” she said.

The Decision: “Awful, But Not Surprising”

Bee concluded that the timing of the cancellation made sense for CBS, given the financial losses and the complexities of the merger. “It’s so much easier for them to cut it loose with this merger coming down the pike,” she explained. “It makes the decision such a no-brainer, and probably the most agonizing decisions they were having were about how do we float this? How do we not get a lot of blowback? I’m sure they knew it was happening a long time ago.”

Despite understanding the rationale, Bee expressed sympathy for Colbert and his team. “The decision to end The Late Show was ‘awful’ as she knows a lot of the people that work there,” she said. “I love Stephen. I consider him to be a friend. I think he’s amazing. I’m shocked, not surprised.”

Conclusion

Samantha Bee’s comments reflect the complex mix of financial, cultural, and political pressures facing late-night television in 2025. While the cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is a blow to fans and industry insiders alike, Bee’s analysis suggests that such decisions are increasingly inevitable in an era defined by rapid change and relentless competition for viewers’ attention.