Late-Night Limbo: Colbert, Stewart May Be Axed

A new report from veteran media reporter Oliver Darcy suggests that the pending Skydance-Paramount merger could spell trouble for two of Donald Trump’s most high-profile critics: Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

Writing in his Status newsletter Tuesday night, Darcy revealed that with the deal expected to close in the coming weeks, conversations are already happening behind the scenes about the future direction of the company—and who might no longer fit in.

Stewart kicked off Monday night’s Daily Show with a fiery monologue slamming Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump, calling it “shameful.” But before he could finish, the show cut to a faux Arby’s ad—satirizing the idea that parent company Comedy Central might censor its own host. “Did they? Son of a bitch!” Stewart exclaimed, both playing along and acknowledging the moment’s discomfort.

Later in the episode, he brought on former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, who described the settlement in no uncertain terms: “It was a shakedown.” Internally, Daily Show staffers reportedly saw Stewart’s decision to go directly at his corporate bosses as a point of pride—proof, as Darcy puts it, that he’s “willing to stand up to powerful interests, even if it potentially risks his future employment.”

That risk may be more than hypothetical. Darcy writes that “inside certain power circles, there is an open question: How much longer will Stewart have this platform?” With linear viewership (and thus ad revenue) shrinking, cutting him loose this December when his current contract expires could be painted as a cost-cutting measure, even if the politics are hard to ignore.

Colbert, who’s signed through 2026, presents a different kind of challenge. Not only is he CBS’s signature star, but he’s also the highest-rated host among the traditional broadcast late-night shows. That hasn’t stopped Trump from targeting him repeatedly, including last fall, when he called Colbert “not funny” and “very boring,” and demanded CBS “terminate his contract.”

Darcy reports that some in the industry believe the Ellisons might be receptive to that pressure, even if indirectly. “What better gift could [they] give Trump than to get rid of Colbert and Stewart?” one media insider told him.

So far, Skydance has maintained that its focus is strictly business, not politics. But as Darcy notes, “it is hard to separate the two.” The Trump-60 Minutes suit already cost two CBS News executives their jobs, and Trump has hinted at a side deal involving free public service announcements for causes he supports.

Within CBS, there’s reportedly a growing sense of unease. One insider told Darcy that top talent is now grappling with the question: “Do I want to keep doing this, knowing management won’t have my back?” Colbert, they noted, could easily walk away.

As Darcy points out, the Ellisons could cut costs and claim neutrality while effectively “silencing two of Trump’s loudest critics on the airwaves.” That possibility prompted LateNighter’s own Bill Carter to tell Darcy, “There’s never been a time when a political figure being treated humorously by comedians has exerted some sort of pressure to eliminate them. That would be a big-time statement about where we are in the country if anything like that happened.”

Read Darcy’s full report in Status.