Stephen Colbert has been back in the headlines again in recent days. It’s not just because his show is set to end on CBS in the coming weeks, a fact he’s allegedly “pissed” about. There’s also been an entirely separate brouhaha brewing on The Late Show after President Trump’s administration decided the FCC’s equal time rule applied to late night talk shows, a standard that had not been challenged particularly in the past.
While all this is going on, Stephen Colbert has gone from sentimentally reminiscing about not getting air time with the likes of Emma Stone ahead of future movie projects, to using air time to call out CBS and the FCC. There’s been notable, loud discourse on the Internet, and former fellow late night host Conan O’Briend knows his feelings are big. O’Brien recently broke his silence about what’s going on, and there’s one note he really wants Colbert to heed: A lot of what’s going on has nothing “to do” with him.
Yeah, he’s pissed, I think rightly, but . . . he’s got a big staff and cares about those people. I’ve been in that situation, and that is excruciating. And so I think he has all the appropriate feelings. What I’ve tried to tell him is that there’s so much of this that doesn’t have anything to do with you. These giant glacial plates are moving, and you are doing the best you can, and you’re such a talented guy, and he’s done an amazing job. And, yeah, there is definitely a thumb on the scale. We all saw that, with Jimmy Kimmel, with the FCC—that was just outrageous and wrong.
Colbert himself hasn’t gone so far as to say he’s “pissed” over the chain of events that led to CBS ultimately axing The Late Show; those are Conan’s words. However, he has been candid that he is “not thrilled” about his show ending in 2026, and there have been some questions about whether or not CBS’ “financial” explanation for the cancellation holds water.
O’Brien got real about feeling like what has been happening on late night recently, particularly in regards to the separate disaster that was Kimmel getting suspended from Live!, was “outrageous.” However, he’s a pretty reasonable guy in general, and he did tell The New Yorker we should all be looking at “the larger picture.”
But in the larger picture, when you look worldwide and see voices being silenced, they really get silenced. I don’t think that’s going to happen with Jimmy Kimmel, or Stephen Colbert, or anyone who’s doing a late-night show.
O’Brien actually appeared on The Late Show a few months ago and lauded Colbert for the way he’s handled this portion of his career. He said at the time, that he and the other late night hosts have a "very special" "connection" with the audience they get to keep forever, even when the show is not longer on the air.
Colbert is getting the chance to wrap his series (mostly) the way he wants to wrap it, outside of the recent FCC intervention. Plus, O’Brien wants to put it on record that the end of one’s late night career is not the end of one's life.
There’s a lot of really beautiful opportunities, and I’ve been having a blast and getting to have types of interviews I never could have had in that old “you’re up in the attic” format.
He hosts a successful podcast filled with topical content. David Letterman has a well-liked Netflix series that pays him incredibly well and allows him to work when he feels like it. Jay Leno is out there still riding motorcycles (perhaps ill-advised) at 75. He might no longer be a part of the 2026 TV schedule in just a few short months, but change often means newer, more unique opportunities.
I, for one, can't wait to see what's next.
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