“CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil defended his bosses at the Tiffany Network for axing Stephen Colbert’s show — while also taking aim at Jon Stewart for alleging there was a political motive in making the cost-cutting move.
Dokoupil, who was famously upbraided by management for a tense on-air debate with author Ta-Nehisi Coates over his book critical of Israel, broke with his co‑hosts on Tuesday to blame Colbert’s “one-sided” commentary for his own cancellation.
Dokoupil said on Tuesday that “no one seems to acknowledge” that “the politics has also changed” in recent years and that Colbert “got way more one-sided than anything Johnny Carson was ever doing.”
“I think we should reflect on those changes as well. It’s been a big shift culturally in that regard, also for sure,” he said during a tense discussion on the morning show on Tuesday.
Dokoupil also torched “Daily Show” host Stewart’s claims that Paramount’s decision to drop “The Late Show” was influenced by “corporate fear.” Stewart’s long-running show airs on Comedy Central, which like CBS is a subsidiary of Paramount.
On Tuesday’s edition of “CBS Mornings,” co‑host Vladimir Duthiers spotlighted points made in Stewart’s monologue in which he defended “The Late Show,”accusing corporate parent Paramount of feeling its merger with Skydance Media was threatened by Colbert’s work.
After the clips of Stewart rolled, Duthiers lamented that despite the “financials” and “reality of where linear television is” he was a fan and hated to see the shows go.
“I know they’re expensive to produce, but they are part of the cultural zeitgeist and they have been part of television since that since the beginning of television, he said.
“So that’s why people are reacting the way that they are.”
After an audible sigh, Dokoupil cut in to reject Stewart’s notion that The Late Show represented a significant part of the merger valuation: “No, I understand the emotional views. I don’t have an MBA but he’s not right that the merger, the $8 billion, is based on reruns of a comedy show, no.”
“People are buying the movies and the sitcoms and the sports,” Dokoupil said. “They’re not based on reruns of us either, so I think it’s wrong.”
Co‑host Gayle King interjected, defending Stewart’s claim that Colbert’s show “contributed to” the merger valuation.
“He’s saying it’s all encompassing, the whole package,” Duthiers agreed.
Dokoupil, however, doubled down.
“Oh, that already happened in the past and he also acknowledged that these late-night shows are what he called like a Blockbuster kiosk inside a Tower Record — so the business is broken,” Dokoupil said.
The cancellation of “The Late Show” came just a week after the network made headlines for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that he alleged was deceptively edited.
Colbert slammed his bosses at Paramount for what he called a “big fat bribe” that was paid to Trump.
The Post has sought comment from CBS News, Paramount, Stewart and Colbert.
CBS said last week that it will end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and retire the entire franchise in May 2026, calling the move “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks reiterated the financial rationale as industry data show the economics have soured.
Broadcast late‑night ad revenue fell to about $220 million in 2024 from $439 million in 2018, and ad spend on “The Late Show” slid from roughly $121 million in 2018 to about $70 million in 2024 amid shrinking audiences.
