Roger Simon, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and author of the Substack “American Refugees,” said he believes Stephen Colbert’s recent firing is proof that late-night comedy is dead.
Last week, CBS announced that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will end in May 2026, saying that the cancellation of the show was a “purely financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
Simon celebrated Colbert’s firing, saying that he believes the late-night host should have been “canceled for years” because he simply isn’t funny.
He criticized Colbert as “unbearable” and “one of the most overpaid people in America,” earning $20 million a year despite not making audiences laugh.
“He ain’t funny,” Simon said on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Simon specifically criticized the choice of guests on current late-night shows, such as Colbert’s hosting of “as funny as dead lizards in roadkill” politicians, including U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
“Colbert’s major guests were not funny people,” Simon said.
Simon argued late-night comedy has become overly political, noting how audiences in the new “era” of shows have been forced to laugh at anti-Trump jokes, which, as he said, has alienated viewers and caused significant financial losses for networks.
“These highly politicized late night shows…People weren’t watching, they lost a ton of money on all of those late night shows. It’s kind of amazing that they didn’t cancel it a couple years ago,” he said.
Simon further predicted that the traditional late-night format may disappear altogether, citing changing habits—such as people being advised to avoid screens before bed—and the overly politicized, scripted, and unrelaxed nature of current shows.
“The whole concept of late night may go. The era is so different. We’re all being told to stay away from our ‘devices’ before going to sleep now because it’s supposed to create insomnia. Also, we hear a lot about blue light,” Simon explained.
“The [late-night] shows should be much more relaxed than they are. They pretend to be relaxed, but they’re super unrelaxed. It’s very rehearsed and the number of writers that they all have is stupendous. The level of writing is terrible,” he added.
Tune in now to The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk!
– Watch LIVE here on X
– Watch LIVE on Roku
– Listen on Spotify
– Listen on WENO AM760 in Nashville
– Read more at @TheTNStar https://t.co/fTPbfuPaSH— MichaelPatrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) July 18, 2025
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Stephen Colbert” by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
