The world of late night time TV was hit with a serious shakeup when CBS canceled The Late Present with Stephen Colbert. The transfer not solely felt prefer it held a mirror to the present monetary state of affairs at Paramount within the midst of the Skydance merger, but additionally a mirror to the state of late night time at massive. Whether or not the cancellation was purely monetary as CBS has claimed or politically motivated as has been rumored during the last week, different late night time hosts have taken inventory of the present local weather for late night time speak exhibits Now, Seth Meyers is discussing his personal present’s potential future.
Meyers, who has hosted Late Night time with Seth Meyers for 11 years, not too long ago opened up about his personal fears surrounding the shifting late night time panorama, particularly as he stays the one host that has a chat present inside the 12:00 a.m. ET hour. He admitted that his present’s longevity fears have shifted since he first began internet hosting his present in 2014, and he’s acknowledged he has much less energy over his personal destiny than he as soon as did. He instructed Dax Shepard on Armchair Professional:
I shifted from fearing that I wouldn’t be ok. Now, my worry is weirdly extra exterior of my management, which is we would simply, sooner or later, the ecosystem may not assist it.
The fundamental thought right here is that if Late Night time had been to be canceled, it probably wouldn’t have something to do with Seth Meyers’ expertise as a number, however relatively the declining reputation of late night time typically. This was seemingly the case for Colbert. The talk over the political content material of the present apart, all late-night exhibits have seen declining viewership lately. Some numbers point out Colbert’s present was shedding $40 million {dollars} a 12 months, which nonetheless isn’t a mirrored image of the present’s high quality, contemplating Colbert led in scores and was simply nominated for an Emmy for the earlier season.
Whereas doomsday might really feel prefer it’s on the horizon for late-night speak exhibits typically following the Colbert information, Meyers has taken some solace in realizing that if his present was cancelled, he can be okay in numerous methods. The previous Saturday Night time Dwell author and actor defined simply why that might be the case:
I might fear about myself psychological well being clever. However I’ve put numerous thought into diversifying my skillset. I might’ve been actually financially high quality simply doing the present for 11 years, however I feel there’s one thing to attempting to construct a rise up profession and attempting various things.[…] there is no such thing as a one entity that may take all the things away directly.
Exterior of his late night time present, Meyers has two podcasts. He has one along with his brother referred to as Household Journeys with the Meyers Brothers the place they speak to different celebrities about journeys they took with their households rising up. He additionally does a podcast with The Lonely Island titled The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, on which the group recaps digital shorts produced throughout their time at SNL.
Moreover, Meyers’ latest stand-up particular, Dad Man Strolling, obtained numerous buzz after changing into obtainable with an HBO Max subscription. He additionally has an ongoing residency with fellow late night time host John Oliver on the Beacon Theater in New York Metropolis. So, general, even when this CBS cancellation is actually the marker of the tip of a late-night period, Meyers shall be high quality in the long term, not less than personally.
Nonetheless, this late-night programming shift brings into query the place the medium at massive will go transferring ahead. Will it shift primarily to podcasting, or will it flip into one thing extra longform like David Letterman’s Netflix present? Or perhaps it’s going to change into more and more extra gimmicky, like Sizzling Ones or Rooster Store Date. The trade is clearly altering, however how that evolution will unfold in the long term has nonetheless but to be seen.
Try Seth Meyers on Late Night time, which airs on weeknights on NBC at 12:30 pm ET amid the 2025 TV schedule. Followers of the present may take a look at beforehand aired episodes now with a Peacock subscription.