I was expecting Last Week Tonight to be off air the first Sunday of July, a holiday weekend in the US. What I wasn’t prepared for, was for the show to be on a break the whole dang month! It’s devastating keeping up with the news these days; I need John Oliver’s special touch, that spoonful of silly to help the tragedy go down. Thankfully, Oliver is back to work this week, with a new episode set for July 27. He actually did some quasi work over the weekend, in that last Saturday was the big Minor League Baseball debut of the new Erie Moon Mammoths, the team mascot Oliver & Co. hatched for Erie, Pennsylvania. Oliver appeared at the game — which had a record 7,070 fans in attendance — where the mayor gifted him with a key to the city and declared July 19 to be Moon Mammoth Day. While at the ball park, Oliver fielded a not so out of left field request to comment on CBS/Paramount cancelling The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Oliver stepped up to the plate to answer candidly:
John Oliver is calling the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “incredibly sad.”
While speaking to reporters over the weekend, Oliver was asked his thoughts about the news, which CBS revealed in a surprise announcement Thursday.
“Obviously, I love Stephen, I love his staff, I love that show — it’s incredibly sad,” the Last Week Tonight host responded. “I’m partly excited to see what they’re gonna do for the next 10 months. It’s terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy.”
Oliver and Colbert both served as correspondents on The Daily Show — though not at the same time — and are friends, with Oliver having appeared on Colbert’s show over the years. Oliver also noted he grew up watching The Late Show in England, when David Letterman was host.
“Late-night shows mean a lot to me, not just because I work in them, because even growing up in England, I would watch Letterman’s show, which of course was Stephen’s show, and think about what a glamorous world that was,” he said. “So to have got to have been on Letterman’s show and Stephen’s show was always one of the most fun things. So it’s very, very, very sad news. I look forward to seeing what [Colbert is] gonna do next because that man will not stop.”
Colbert shared the show’s live audience during the taping of Thursday’s show at the Ed Sullivan theatre in New York, drawing boos from the audience. He said he’d been told about the decision the night before.
In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was “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.”
“It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” What, is Paramount playing two lies and a truth with this bogus explanation? Cause we know it truly didn’t have to do with performance, otherwise they’d be canning all their top-rated shows that were beating out other networks in their designated time slots. As for the show’s content, and how that might relate to other dealings going down at Paramount, like a merger dependent on FCC approval under the direction of a baby-fisted man with even thinner skin… It’s like Mike Myers told us just a few months ago: “Fascism doesn’t like to be ridiculed; it likes to be feared.” Instead of protecting their company member, their partner, their moneymaker(!), Paramount just played right into the wannabe furor’s fascist tendencies. And as if that weren’t awful enough, they’ve made John Oliver sad. As far as I’m concerned, those fond memories Oliver shared of growing up with The Late Show were the tears of a clown! Let’s hope other big producers decide to have the backs of their artists, so Oliver doesn’t become the last clown standing.
In the meantime, I, like Oliver, am gleefully looking forward to what Colbert unleashes in the final season, when there are absolutely no f–ks left to give.
photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix, Ulices Ramales/Backgrid, Getty
I’m not worried about Colbert — those thin-skinned fascists should be. He’s been holding back with his jokes about Donald, so they should probably prepare themselves for an EPIC takedown now that there are no more rules. Just wait until the network show ends. The gloves will well and truly be off at that point. Of all the late night hosts, Stephen is the one to watch out for. I cannot wait!!!
And thank goodness John Oliver is back on Sunday!! It’s always rough for me when he takes time off.
I hate when LWT goes on break! Like you said, WE NEED JOHN!
That said, of course it was political. P+ folded like a cheap suit on a humid day. My only fear is that if SC goes full force, they will yank him off air, and just pay out his contract. P+ won’t risk poking the moldy tangerine while waiting to see if their merger is being approved.
I’m looking forward to unhinged “Strangers with Candy-” esque Colbert. He’s so very good when he’s unhinged.
I am so right there with you, @Anne!
There was an article out that it was losing like 40 mil a year. It said they all were bc of streaming etc. it sounds like they all will go down soon.
@ghjik unless you’re a finance type and pored over the statements with a close eye to how CBS reported revenue and costs I don’t think that number is worth repeating.
A number all the MAGA blue check puppets are screaming all over social media, (not saying you are one). One show doesn’t financially make or break a network and they’re willing to take some losses on some prestige shows and make up the difference elsewhere. 60 Minutes and the Late Show are CBS’s prestigious jewels. This isn’t about $40 million. It’s about the far larger sum involved in the merger that needs Trump’s approval
Well SC kicked things off nicely by looking at the camera and telling Donald Jessica Frump to “go eff himself” 😍