The Reflection of Power on Your TV Screen: The Political Narratives Behind the Entertainment Industry

By: Rylee Lyons

Recently, there has been an immense amount of political turmoil surrounding not only the news, but the entertainment industry as well. The political environment intertwines itself with most aspects of daily life, especially television, but a unique problem has posed itself specifically in the late-night TV industry. This would be the sudden and arguably unprecedented urge for TV networks to cancel segments of late-night comedy and talk shows that America has known and loved for years. Some call it funding issues and lack of talent, others call it censorship and an infringement of free speech in the media as we know it. 

On July 17, 2025, Stephen Colbert announced on a live taping of his show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, that the segment would be cancelled by CBS after the current season ends. “It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of “The Late Show” on CBS… “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away…” said Colbert. CBS and parent network Paramount Global stated the decision was “purely financial” and unrelated to the show’s performance. However, many fans were skeptical about this statement, as the program had been the highest rated late-night segment on television in Q4 of 2024 as well as in past quarters. The show had been averaging around 2.5 million viewers at the time of the cancellation announcement. Viewers were concerned with the logic behind this decision, but skepticism furthered due to the timing of it. The cancellation was announced a few days after Colbert called out CBS, his own network, for their $16 million settlement with the White House. Shortly after the cancellation announcement, it was revealed that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) merged Paramount Global with Skydance Media in an $8 billion merger deal in an effort to make changes to CBS’ entire broadcast, meant to “eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination.” (Brendan Carr, FCC Chair). Paramount Global CEO George Cheeks attempted to make it clear in a pressconference related to the merger that this decision was difficult and that the network loves Colbert and his work, but the show wasn’t sustainable. While his words may seem genuine, the logistics and timing of the issue continue to confuse and concern viewers.

Nearly 2 months later, another popular late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel, Live! hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air, supposedly due to comments made by Kimmel about the conservatives’ reaction to the recent passing of conservative icon Charlie Kirk. ABC , a Disney owned network, announced that Kimmel’s live segment on their network would be pulled off the air indefinitely on September 18th, 2025. Though there has been lack of explanation from ABC behind the decision, it is known that the network was facing political pressure from the FCC as well as the Trump administration to act against Kimmel. This is seen in Brendan Carr’s comments in response to Nexstar’s announcement to stop airing Kimmel’s segment. “I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing…I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead.” (Carr, X). 

While Jimmy Kimmel hasn’t spoken publicly about his cancellation yet, Stephen Colbert has been extremely outspoken and emotional regarding his show. Amid controversy regarding the cancellation, Stephen Colbert took home an Emmy for outstanding talk series for The Late Show, the show’s first Emmy win ever. In his speech, he reminisced on the early inspirations he had for The Late Show, after he took over for comedy legend David Letterman. Colbert said he wanted to lead the show with themes of love, and concluded his speech with a powerful, personal, hopeful statement: “I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.”