3 takeaways about the end of Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show'

When Stephen Colbert launched his first "Late Show" on Sept. 8, 2015, the future looked endless — a legacy show, popular new host, successor to David Letterman. As sure as any bet on network TV, late night was forever.

"Forever" just came to a screeching halt. CBS has pulled the plug on Colbert and "Late Show," ending a franchise that began in 1993 with Letterman, following efforts to fill that fraught time period going back decades. The last episode will air next May.

Here are three takeaways from this momentous decision:

Was the cancellation political?

Because it so closely followed CBS' agreement to pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit tied to a 2024 "60 Minutes" interview — a "big fat bribe," Colbert said on Monday's show — this seemed like the logical conclusion to many, including a pair of senators — Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — who promptly demanded answers. Schiff, a guest on Thursday's show, released a statement saying, "If Paramount and CBS ended the 'Late Show' for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better."

Everyone knows Colbert has been an outspoken Trump critic over most of his 10-year run, and Trump has been an outspoken Colbert critic (a running joke with both ABC late-night rival Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert). The argument — if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck — certainly feels plausible. CBS parent Paramount is seeking to close an $8 billion merger with Skydance, and after settling the "60 Minutes" suit, this now looks like just another hurdle cleared. (In a statement, CBS has insisted the "events" were unrelated.)

Nevertheless, if this were political, why keep Colbert and "Late Show" on the air another 10 months? And if it were political, why kill the franchise outright? Just get another host who's more anodyne than Colbert, or less risky.

Colbert himself appeared to anticipate, then deflect, the expected blowback on Thursday's show: "I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners." He added, "It's a fantastic job and I wish somebody else was doing it [but] it's a job I'm looking forward to doing ... for another 10 months.

"It's gonna be fun."

Was the cancellation financial?

"Late Show's" demise is a shock — except to those who follow late night closely. The genre has effectively tanked over the last 10 years. According to recent figures, the four big late-night franchises ("Tonight," "Late Show," "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "The Daily Show") drew nearly 11 million viewers per night when Colbert launched. That has dropped to less than 5 million. Ad revenue is down 70% over that span. The networks have canceled plenty of late-night shows over the intervening years (James Corden, Conan O'Brien, Samantha Bee) and haven't bothered replacing them.

The reason people aren't watching late night is because they don't have to. Most catch up on YouTube or one of the streaming services, if they catch up at all. A once ironclad habit is gone, almost certainly forever, too. There are millions of "views" on various streaming platforms, but have the networks "monetized" those? Sure, but not enough to make up for the broadcast shortfall.

Should the other shows be worried? "Tonight" has already cut back a day a week, while Kimmel has been taking the summers off (Jelly Roll hosted  Thursday night). Maybe they should be.

By the way, it bears pointing out that not all late night is hurting: Fox News' "Gutfeld!" gets more than 3 million viewers a night (to Colbert's 2.4 million). Someone out there is watching.

What else is at risk?

Because the cancellation of "Late Show" is a genuine paradigm shift, what else might become a casualty of TV's new world order, where streaming predominates and broadcast recedes to irrelevance? Colbert should be OK, so don't worry about him. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV and Prime Video can be expected to inquire about his services.

But everything else at CBS feels in play right now, even "60 Minutes," which was humiliated by the payout. Canceling one of TV's oldest and most beloved news franchises seems inconceivable, but it shouldn't be. CBS News itself could be in trouble. There's been widespread speculation that some franchises ("CBS Evening News") might disappear altogether, leaving just "CBS News Sunday Morning."

Whatever happens — or doesn't — the end of "Late Show" has already cast a long, dark shadow.