Stephen Colbert has every reason to be bummed out. After a decade hosting The Late Show on CBS — the last nine in first place in the ratings — the beloved late night host found out last week that his show has been cancelled. The shocking news from CBS came as a surprise to fans who booed the reveal of the move by the so-called Tiffany Network last week, which said it was a purely “financial” decision.
As many have pointed out, though, the bait-cutting of the show that just got nominated for its 33rd Emmy Award coincides with parent company Paramount’s in-process merger with Skydance, a deal that requires sign-off from the Federal Communications Commission.
So, what better way to show that the next ten months will be the longest, most gleeful goodbye possible than to invite some of your rowdy friends to come over and have some fun while Rome is burning? Which is exactly what Colbert did. “I don’t want this show to be associated with making you sad or anxious, but since I’m the guy who’s going away next year, I’m thinking maybe I’m not the guy to cheer you up. So I thought music, OK, that makes people happy, right?” he said before bringing out Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Weird Al” Yankovic to provide some levity for the studio audience at the Ed Sullivan Theatre with a round of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”
Al, toting his trusty accordion, walked out to an extended standing ovation as Tony winner Miranda announced their song selection and Yankovic assured Colbert that he would not be busting out one of his patented parodies because, “I can’t think of anything funnier than Coldplay.”
Joined by the house band, they cranked up the tune as Miranda spoofed the now-infamous Astronomer CEO kiss-cam fiasco at a recent Coldplay show by zooming in on the audience to find some of Colbert’s fellow talkers and famous friends seemingly caught unawares. There were Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen pretending to make out. “Look at those guys! They’re having a great time,” Miranda enthused. The camera then alighted on Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon enjoying beers in the stands and freaking out about being on camera, as well as well as Adam Sandler, Happy Gilmore 2 co-star Christopher McDonald and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog munching on popcorn shrimp.
Colbert’s former Daily Show chums Jon Stewart and John Oliver got in on the act as well, channeling dudes who’ve never been on camera as the bit wound down with, you guessed it, another dig at Donald Trump mixed with the billionth joke about the Coldplay kiss-cam scandal. Mirroring that viral disaster, Miranda feigned surprised to see an animated commander in chief lovingly hugging the Paramount logo like it was an American flag. “Uh-Oh, either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he joked as the cartoon Trump ducked down like the fired CEO in the Coldplay video did as the audience let out a hearty boo at the sight of No. 47.
The bit ended with Colbert getting a breaking news note cancelling the song performance after the host learned that since the pair began playing it, “the network has lost, and I don’t know how this is possible, $40-$50 million,” he said, parodying the amount CBS claimed it was losing on the show that led all late night programs for nearly all of the past decade.
“That’s impossible. That song was a number one song,” Miranda fought back. “You can’t cancel a No. 1 song!” he raged about the seeming incongruity of pulling the plug on something that is arguably at the top of its game. “Tell me this has nothing to do with who we just put a spotlight on,” an incredulous Miranda added.
“There’s nothing in here that mentions that,” said Colbert with a wit so dry it could cause oceans to evaporate. For context, a week ago in his monologue, Colbert lashed out at CBS’ $16 million settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview he claimed was unfairly edited, calling the agreement a “big fat bribe.” News of his cancellation came just days later in what CBS has said was an unrelated decision.
Colbert then claimed the letter cancelling the song, like CBS’ announcement, said some “very nice” things about the duo’s performance, quality and stature, calling them “irreplaceable” in what is surely just an initial volley in what is likely to be a salvo of shots aimed at the network, its parent company, and Trump, over the next ten months.
The host pulled even less punches in his opening monologue, where he snapped back at frequent target Trump — who, after the news, gloated on his Truth Social platform, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.” Colbert fired back with mock outrage, saying, “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f–k yourself!”
Check out Colbert, Miranda and Yankovic performing “Viva La Vida” an Colbert’s monologue about the cancellation below.
