Comedy kingmaker Lorne Michaels is weighing in on the tumult in late-night television.
The “Saturday Night Live” co-creator and longtime executive producer opened up in a recent interview with Puck News about how he really felt about the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on CBS, and where he thought the future of late-night comedy might be headed.
“I was just stunned,” he told the outlet of CBS parent company Paramount’s decision to pull the plug on the storied “Late Show” franchise.
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“I’m on the side of the people who do shows, but there’s two audiences now,” Michaels said. “There’s the audience that is (watching on) TikTok and YouTube, and there’s a linear audience.” He went on to explain that Colbert, along with “Late Night” host Seth Meyers, are “heirs” to David Letterman, who hosted the CBS program for many years. Their shows, he argued, were similar to “SNL” in that ” everybody’s watching that night.”
Pivoting to the “Tonight Show,” which shares a network with “SNL,” Michaels said host Jimmy Fallon is offering a more clip-friendly alternative that can be consumed “all day” via online platforms. That juxtaposition is at the heart of the late-night survival debate, as detractors of the current format argue it is not adapting to a modern media landscape.
While some cited changing media tides amid Colbert’s cancellation, others argued that the move was political. Colbert was a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, and Paramount was awaiting approval for a massive merger before his administration’s Federal Communications Commission.
Michaels, in his interview, did not offer a definitive opinion, saying of the possible political influence: “I don’t think any of us are going to ever know that.”
As for his own network, NBC, which falls under parent company Comcast, Michaels said he thought both Meyers and Fallon were safe from cancellation.
“Yes. I think Brian Roberts (Comcast’s CEO) − who I will be working for for the rest of my life, who I have very high admiration for −has integrity,” Michaels, 80, said. “At the same time, everyone has (broadcast) licenses … But I really don’t believe that we affect things.”
Michaels seemed to imply that a few quips on late-night TV were unlikely to have any measurable effect on the president (or his approval rating).
“With this president, whatever crimes Trump is committing, he’s doing it in broad daylight,” Michaels continued. “There is absolutely nothing that the people who vote for him − or me −don’t know.”
“He is a really powerful media figure,” he added. “He knows how to hold an audience. That’s a very powerful thing, and I think it was always underestimated. His politics are obviously not my politics, but denouncing (him) doesn’t work.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lorne Michaels shocked by Colbert firing, but says Fallon is safe
