TV Q&A: How will CBS fill Stephen Colbert's ‘Late Show’ time slot?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: How will CBS fill the “Late Show” time slot now that they’re ending the show and sending Stephen Colbert packing next May?

— Laura, via Facebook

Rob: When CBS ended 12:35 a.m. show “After Midnight,” the network did not give the time period back to local affiliates. Instead, it will fill the slot with (mostly) reruns of “Comics Unleased with Byron Allen” beginning in late September. CBS could go that cheap-o route and replace “The Late Show” with sitcom reruns or an inexpensive “Nightline” clone or hire a YouTuber.

There are many theories about why CBS killed “The Late Show,” which CBS described as the No. 1 late-night show but also no longer financially viable. While it’s true that late-night has been financially challenged by declining linear ratings in recent years and “Late Show” produces less viral (re: monetizable) content than its late-night rivals, it’s also difficult to separate the “Late Show” cancellation from efforts to get Trump administration approval for Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount Global.

CBS already capitulated to the Trump administration by settling a meritless lawsuit over editing a Kamala Harris interview on “60 Minutes.” Skydance has been in talks with Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss, publisher of the center-right online publication The Free Press, about a potential acquisition, presumably so the company can demonstrate to the feds that the new owner of CBS News wants to sweep away any real or perceived liberal bias. So it’s unsurprising that, despite CBS’s protestations that ending “The Late Show” “is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” many still see the cancellation as part of an effort to get the Skydance deal done.

All of this is to say, CBS could put anything in that 11:35 p.m. time slot but one possibility is that the company opts to simulcast Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which is also part of the Paramount Global portfolio, though neither Paramount nor Skydance would be likely to announce that until after the FCC blesses their deal.

Even then, who knows if Paramount will re-up Monday night “Daily Show” host/ratings driver Jon Stewart, whose contract is up in December. Or if Stewart would even agree to take the job, since it would mean essentially replacing his friend and former co-worker, Stephen Colbert.

One theory shared with me by a former network insider that makes sense: CBS needed a liberal scalp, and they chose Colbert because “The Late Show,” by virtue of being a network show, was more expensive to produce than “The Daily Show,” which, as a cable show, is made at a lower price point. In addition, “Daily Show” also churns out more monetizable viral content.

Related

• TV Q&A: Do NWS cuts impact TV meteorologists?
• TV Q&A: Will 'Deadliest Catch' air new episodes this year?
• TV Q&A: Did KDKA's Lauren Linder leave?

Q: Are they producing a third season of Syfy series “The Ark”?

— John, Green Tree

Rob: Syfy renewed “The Ark” in March. A new season is filming now for a planned 2026 premiere.

Q: Will there be any more seasons of “World on Fire”? It was on PBS.

— Beth, McCandless

Rob: There will be no more seasons. “World on Fire” was canceled in early 2024 after its second season.