Stephen Colbert's over-the-top and caricaturized portrayal of political pundits (generally of those on the right side of the political spectrum) first appeared on the short-lived sketch comedy series The Dana Carvey Show and carried over to The Daily Show where Colbert became a regular contributor on in the late 90's. The character and his segments proved so popular with viewers that Colbert was rewarded his own spin-off The Colbert Report following The Daily Show on Comedy Central and lasted from late 2005 into early 2014. He and Jon Stewart both had reputations for being anti-establishment and challenging the mainstream media complex, with absurdity combating absurdity. Even if one did not agree with the political views of either gentleman, their comedic timing and energy was difficult to fault. When The Colbert Report came to an end and Colbert was announced as the replacement for David Letterman as the host of The Late Show there was interest and curiosity about what he would bring to the table with his style and quality of improvisation.
At almost a full decade later, and I think the best way to describe his time hosting late night on CBS is with just one word - disappointment. First of all, the program is very safe in its presentation, obviously Colbert cannot go as far as he used to on Comedy Central with some of the material but there is not enough clever writing to still deliver the same impact. Secondly, the jokes are way too predictable and the delivery of them is flat. Third, the program is just too politically one-sided that it often comes across as a mouthpiece for the mainstream establishment - left leaning politicians, journalists, and activists are often brought on for interviews and sketches and are usually portrayed in a flattering with questions and comments in favor of them and their views. Politicians, journalists, and celebrities on other sides of the political spectrum are generally dismissed as being incompetent, in the wrong, and lacking intelligence. While there are instances when the program will give criticism towards a politically left leaning person of note in culture and be friendly towards someone outside of that political party it does not occur enough to where you could describe the program as being politically neutral. It should even be noted that some of the times where a politically left leaning individual is joked about, it is in light of them being against the establishment, like a Joe Rogan.
A decade ago, Stephen Colbert would have a lot more material to work from than telling the same old "Trump is bad" jokes in his opening monologues and would call out the absurdity of a sketch where there are dancers dressed like vaccination needles to persuade people to get vaccinated. It is quite unfortunate that the talent he had has been largely missing since 2014.
At almost a full decade later, and I think the best way to describe his time hosting late night on CBS is with just one word - disappointment. First of all, the program is very safe in its presentation, obviously Colbert cannot go as far as he used to on Comedy Central with some of the material but there is not enough clever writing to still deliver the same impact. Secondly, the jokes are way too predictable and the delivery of them is flat. Third, the program is just too politically one-sided that it often comes across as a mouthpiece for the mainstream establishment - left leaning politicians, journalists, and activists are often brought on for interviews and sketches and are usually portrayed in a flattering with questions and comments in favor of them and their views. Politicians, journalists, and celebrities on other sides of the political spectrum are generally dismissed as being incompetent, in the wrong, and lacking intelligence. While there are instances when the program will give criticism towards a politically left leaning person of note in culture and be friendly towards someone outside of that political party it does not occur enough to where you could describe the program as being politically neutral. It should even be noted that some of the times where a politically left leaning individual is joked about, it is in light of them being against the establishment, like a Joe Rogan.
A decade ago, Stephen Colbert would have a lot more material to work from than telling the same old "Trump is bad" jokes in his opening monologues and would call out the absurdity of a sketch where there are dancers dressed like vaccination needles to persuade people to get vaccinated. It is quite unfortunate that the talent he had has been largely missing since 2014.