It has just been announced that CBS will end the broadcast of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in 2026. For many, this is simply “another end of an era of television” news. But let's not be fooled. This is no ordinary programming decision. It's a quiet but loud blow to one of the last voices of bold, intelligent satire in American mainstream media. A voice that wasn't afraid to bang straight - especially when others were silent. And now - it's gone off the air.
Stephen Colbert was not just a leading man. He was a symbol of American intelligence with a cutting tongue and a moral compass that didn't get lost in the media set-up. His “Late Show” was a space where viewers could catch their breath for a moment - not through funny faces or gags about the weather, but through sharp satire that dissected the hypocrisy of politicians, the media and corporations. Colbert said what others were afraid to say. When Trump shouted his bullshit, he didn't pretend to be a neutral commentator - he pounded the truth between the eyes, often with more courage than any news journalist.
CBS, on the other hand, says it is “naturally completing a phase.” On the surface, this sounds like corporate talk - changes, rotations, refreshing the frame. But you can hear something more in the background - pressure, discomfort, perhaps blackmail from the political and business establishment. Because, after all, Colbert has been a thorn in the side of Donald Trump and his supporters for years. He did not let go. He ridiculed, he punctuated, he struck at absurdity, stupidity and lies. He did it accurately. And now what? The program disappears, and Trump publicly rejoices at its end. Coincidence?
If this doesn't look like the station's political bow to the forces that hate criticism, I don't know what does anymore. Instead of defending its harshest voice, CBS has chosen... silence. Or rather - opportunism. When history looks back, this may have been the moment when the media finally capitulated to the pressure of populism and false balance. Because if even Colbert can be silenced, it means that no one is safe if he says one word too many.
In this context, the reaction of viewers is not surprising. The Internet is buzzing with comments in which people call this decision “censorship,” “silencing of an inconvenient voice,” and some go even further - they see this as the beginning of a new era of self-censorship and soft dictatorship in the media. And it is hard to disagree with them. Because this is not just the end of one program. It's the symbolic death of independent satire, which was once the lifeblood of American culture.
Colbert has proven over the years that comedy can be a form of resistance. Not a laughable blowout, but a weapon. His monologues about Trump, the Supreme Court, the MAGA movement, fake news, pandemics, racism or women's rights were more than jokes - they were timely and accurate social diagnoses. And that's what he paid the price for. Because in a world where everything must be “neutral,” “safe,” “for everyone,” Colbert was unapologetic. And that is why he is disappearing.
But let's not delude ourselves - this is not the end of Colbert. He will find a way to keep talking. Maybe on the Internet, maybe on a new platform, maybe in a form we don't yet know. But what is happening right now is a warning to us all. Today they are silencing a satirist. Tomorrow it could be a journalist, then a writer, then... you.
If today we accept it without reaction - then maybe when all the brave ones are silenced, it will be too late to speak up.
Photo: CBS photo archive via Getty Images
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