CBS Boss Thinks Late-Night Can Be Reinvented

By Andrew Sanford | TV | June 14, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | June 14, 2023 |

Late-night talk shows are on their way out. It brings me no pleasure to type that. Growing up, late-night talk shows were a look into another world for me. The celebrities and guests were exciting, of course, but the most exciting aspect was the idea that you could sit behind a desk, make wry remarks, and that could be your job. I was also a dedicated Conan watcher, so the opportunity to be weird and silly appealed to me as well. Still, everything comes to an end. While network executives haven’t pulled the plug on late-night yet, they seem to be trending in that direction.

CEO of CBS, George Cheeks, recently sat down with Deadline to discuss CBS’s new late-night plans. Specifically, he talks about their 12:30 slot. The idea is to use the slot for a new version of the Comedy Central panel show @midnight. Stephen Colbert will produce the show, which Cheeks claims had an idea for a host and showrunner before the WGA strike happened. As Cheeks stated in the interview, “I feel like at this point where our business is headed, I think it’s going to be harder and harder to rationalize the traditional talk show at 12:30 am.” He’s not wrong. Kind of.

The 12:30 late-night slot is not where traditional talk shows go. It has long been home to hosts who wanted to shake up the medium. David Letterman inspired an entire generation of comedians with his off-the-wall humor. As I mentioned earlier, Conan O’Brien showed me and many others that it’s OK to lean into your weirdness. Craig Ferguson left an indelible mark on the spot, being weird and, at times, incredibly compassionate. Seth Meyers has embraced a laid-back, staff-first style that is likable and “non-traditional.” 12:30 has always been a place for experimentation, and CBS seemingly wants to ignore that.

It makes sense that they would shift to an internet-driven show to replace James Corden. Aside from a near-universal detestability, Corden brought viral videos to 12:30 on CBS. Carpool Karaoke became an internet mainstay, for better and for worse. Replacing him with something that generates a similar amount of viral… “content” makes sense, I’m sure, from a shareholder mentality. The 12:30 time slot used to be more or less ignored by executives. It was filler, which is why hosts got to do almost whatever they wanted. Now, everything has to be monetized.

When someone like George Cheeks says “reinvented,” it feels like they mean “replaced.” Again, from a shitty point of view, I get it. Podcasts fill a lot of the voids that late-night shows once did. Still, late-night television is worthy of mourning, even before it’s gone. I first saw Conan O’Brien because he was … on. No one told me about him or introduced him to me; I was just up too late and flipping through the channels and found someone weird, like me, doing weird stuff. I understand why things are changing, but I don’t have to like it.