Is 'Colbert' the Wrong Late Show to Cancel?

About this episode

Wesley Morris discusses the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' and its implications for late-night television with guest Jason Zinoman.

The “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ends this week. When CBS announced the show’s cancellation last summer, the network said in a statement that it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” There’s still some debate around what happened and why, but for Wesley Morris, the demise of the long-running franchise brought up feelings about another late-night show: “Saturday Night Live.” Maybe, after 51 years, “S.N.L.” should end too. So Wesley invited Jason Zinoman, a Times critic at large, to discuss “S.N.L.” and the beleaguered state of late-night television. What is worth saving?

People in this episode

Host: Wesley Morris

Guest: Jason Zinoman

Topics covered

• late-night television
• cancellation
• cultural commentary
• SNL
• Colbert
• media analysis

Keywords

• Colbert
• SNL
• late-night
• cancellation
• Wesley Morris
• Jason Zinoman
• CBS
• television

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CBS

Books & works: Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live

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