The late-night television landscape just got a major shakeup that nobody in Hollywood saw coming.
CBS pulled the plug on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show after nearly a decade of declining ratings and mounting losses.
And Greg Gutfeld delivered one crushing blow that left Stephen Colbert’s defenders absolutely speechless.
Gutfeld celebrates massive ratings victory over liberal late-night
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld didn’t hold back when The Five discussed CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The conservative comedian has been quietly building a late-night empire that’s demolishing the competition – and the numbers don’t lie.
"We beat all these guys, my show, and we are only in 61 million homes. CBS reaches nearly 300 million Americans," Gutfeld explained during Friday’s The Five.¹
The ratings data tells a stunning story – Gutfeld’s show pulls in three million viewers while Colbert managed only 1.9 million, according to figures cited during the Fox News discussion.²
But Gutfeld’s next comment delivered the real punch.
"[Colbert] also had 200 staffers. I employ nothing but teenage runaways. And by the way, I don’t even pay them," he quipped.³
The contrast is remarkable when you break down the numbers.
Here’s a show operating with a fraction of the resources and reach, yet consistently outperforming a network giant that was hemorrhaging $100 million per year.
CBS scrambles to explain away Colbert catastrophe
CBS executives scrambled to control the narrative, insisting the decision was financial rather than performance-based.
The network claimed it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," emphasizing it wasn’t "related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."⁴
They pointed to the show’s massive $100 million annual production costs since Colbert’s 2015 takeover.
Gutfeld wasn’t buying the corporate spin for a second.
"I love that they claim it’s a financial reason. Everything is a financial reason, right?" Gutfeld responded. "They didn’t cancel his show, they canceled the whole show. This was an ‘institution,’ and they said rather than put somebody in his place, they just said we’re closing it up."⁵
His final assessment cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"Imagine being a chef, you’re such a bad chef that they canceled food."⁶
That kind of sharp wit is exactly why Gutfeld has captured an audience that traditional late-night completely missed.
Fox News co-host Emily Compagno offered her own perspective on how Democrats were reacting to the news.
"At the end of the day, the viewers were voting with the remote. So people like [Sens. Adam] Schiff and Elizabeth Warren saying it’s Donald Trump, it just underscores why they are failing, because everything comes back down to ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ instead of them daring to look at the mirror," she observed.⁷
Trump celebrates as liberal late-night crumbles
President Donald Trump wasted no time celebrating Colbert’s demise on Truth Social.
Trump claimed the host’s "talent was even less than his ratings" and declared that "Greg Gutfeld is better than all" late-night talk show hosts.⁷
The timing of these developments is notable for conservatives.
The same week CBS canceled Colbert’s failing show, the Senate codified Department of Government Efficiency cuts that stripped $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting.
It’s becoming clear that Americans are rejecting the left-wing propaganda that dominated late-night television for years.
Gutfeld represents something different – a conservative voice that’s willing to push back against liberal orthodoxy with humor and intelligence.
His success proves there’s a massive audience hungry for comedy that doesn’t constantly attack traditional American values.
Meanwhile, Democrat senators like Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren are desperately trying to blame Trump for Colbert’s failure instead of admitting the obvious truth.
Americans simply don’t want to be preached to by smug liberals who think they’re morally superior to half the country.
What we’re seeing here isn’t just one show getting canceled – it’s a fundamental shift in what Americans actually want to watch.
Think about it. Colbert had everything going for him. Massive network backing, 200-person staff, prime time slot. Yet somehow a Fox News comedian operating with a skeleton crew is eating his lunch night after night.
There’s a lesson in those numbers, and Hollywood executives who ignore it do so at their own peril. Turns out people don’t tune in to be scolded about their politics after a long day at work.
Gutfeld figured out something his competitors missed – Americans want to laugh, not get lectured. And judging by CBS shutting down an entire franchise rather than try to fix it, that message is finally getting through.
¹ Jenny Goldsberry, "Gutfeld touts Washington Examiner report following Colbert show cancellation," Washington Examiner, July 20, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
