Another liberal late-night show bites the dust. CBS announced Wednesday that *After Midnight*, the latest attempt at keeping the stale, unfunny genre alive, is officially canceled after host Taylor Tomlinson abruptly quit to return to stand-up comedy.
The decision marks yet another blow to late-night TV, a once-powerful medium that has been hemorrhaging viewers for years. Americans, it seems, have grown tired of the same recycled left-wing talking points being passed off as “comedy.”
*After Midnight* debuted in January 2024 as a replacement for *The Late Late Show*, which CBS scrapped after James Corden’s departure. Despite the network’s initial commitment to a third season, Tomlinson’s exit forced executives to pull the plug entirely. The show’s final episode will air in June.
Tomlinson, 31, cited a desire to focus on stand-up comedy, a move that left CBS scrambling. Stephen Colbert, who served as an executive producer on the show, put on a brave face, saying, “While we were excited and grateful for our third season to start in the fall, we respect Taylor’s decision to return to stand-up full time.”
Translation? CBS saw the writing on the wall. The numbers weren’t there, and with Tomlinson gone, the network didn’t see the point in pretending otherwise.
This cancellation isn’t just about *After Midnight*. It’s part of a broader collapse of the late-night industry. Gone are the days of Johnny Carson and David Letterman, when hosts focused on entertaining America rather than lecturing them.
Instead, modern late-night shows have become predictable echo chambers, pandering to a dwindling audience that still enjoys smug monologues attacking conservatives. But with Americans shifting to streaming platforms and independent creators, networks are struggling to justify these costly, outdated programs.
CBS’s decision officially ends three decades of original 12:30 a.m. programming, a tradition that began in 1995. Before that, the network simply aired reruns of underperforming dramas—something they may very well return to now that the late-night experiment has failed.
Late-night TV’s downfall mirrors the struggles of other left-leaning entertainment. Traditional networks are losing their grip as audiences reject their increasingly one-sided content in favor of platforms offering real diversity of thought.
Even streaming services, which once seemed like the future of late-night-style programming, have abandoned the format. Netflix, Hulu, and others attempted to launch their own talk shows, but most were canceled within months. Why? Because people don’t want more of the same tired political grandstanding.
Meanwhile, former hosts like Trevor Noah and James Corden have walked away from their gigs voluntarily, seemingly realizing that there’s no long-term future in a dying industry. Even Conan O’Brien, one of the few genuinely talented late-night figures, has pivoted to podcasting—an industry where independent voices thrive without corporate overlords dictating their message.
With *After Midnight* shutting down, CBS is effectively bowing out of the late-night game altogether. Don’t expect them to replace it with another talk show anytime soon. Instead, the network will likely shift focus to content that actually draws viewers—something that late-night comedy simply can’t do anymore.
The truth is, America has moved on. People don’t need multimillionaire hosts preaching to them about politics at 12:30 a.m. They’d rather hear from independent voices, comedians who don’t censor themselves, and commentators who actually challenge the status quo.
CBS finally pulled the plug. The question now is: how much longer until the rest of late-night TV follows?
