1
The
Brewster Browser
October 17, 2025 Wolfeboro, NH
Volume 48 Issue 1
Brewster Celebrates NH Day
Politics Influence Change in Late Night Television
by Katherine Twombly ’26
On Thursday, July 17, 2025, CBS announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would not be returning for another season after its 10-year run. It is set to end in May of 2026, with CBS stating that their decision was “purely financial”. However, it is widely believed that this, in fact, was not the real reason for the cancellation, and that the decision was politically motivated. This is largely due to the fact that during his opening monologue on Monday, July 14, Colbert criticized Paramount’s decision to pay a settlement of $16 million to President Trump after he sued them for editing a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in order to boost her chances of winning the 2024 presidential election. There was further support for Colbert during the 77th Emmy Awards on September 14th when The Late Show won for Outstanding Talk Series. He used his platform to express gratitude for those who supported him and voted for him, and to promote the staff working behind the scenes who will soon be out of a job. Jimmy Kimmel, a fellow late-night talk show host, had been publicly expressing his discontent
with the decision made by CBS and Paramount and had been showing his support to Colbert, specifically in terms of campaigning for his Emmy win. Soon after this public display of support, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, airing on ABC, was taken off the air due to comments the host made during the opening monologue on Monday, September 15, about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel stated that President Trump and other Republican officials were “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and claimed that they were trying to “score political points” off the assassination. Contrary to this claim, it was later revealed that the murderer leaned more liberal on the political spectrum. The show issued an apology for its statement, and Kimmel posted in support of the Kirk family, but it was still pulled from the air on September 17. While these comments were factually incorrect and arguably in poor taste, the situation surrounding the suspension was complicated. Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), threatened to take action against
ABC if Kimmel was not pulled off the air for “directly mislead[ing] the American public.” Many saw this move by a federal organization as an attack on free speech and censorship of ideas that they themselves did not believe in or support. This was escalated after President Trump made comments stating that Kimmel should be off air because he was untalented and had poor ratings, which is objectively false. The issue of free speech has become more controversial, given the increasing polarization of American politics in recent years. What was notable about this particular situation is that political figures on both sides were coming to the defense of Jimmy Kimmel and stating that what the FCC did violated the First Amendment. For example, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said he believed what was happening was “unbelievably dangerous” and that the government should not be able to “take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying.” While this came as a surprise to many, given the difference in political affiliations between Cruz and Kimmel, it is most likely true that even some Republicans are speaking out against this cancellation because they know
that if the roles were reversed in the future and Democrats regained more governmental control, this could mean that they would have a valid reason to silence any conservative voices and alter the narrative in their favor. Partly influenced by the widespread disagreement with this decision, Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to the air on Tuesday, September 23. Kimmel used his opening monologue to address what was seen by him and many others as an attack on the right to free speech. “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Kimmel said. He also addressed the comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said. “If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.” While this controversial move by the FCC and ABC has been resolved for now, the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will move forward. President Trump has continued to threaten the hosts of late-night shows, warning that they could be next.
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(above) As Mr. Bridgeman and Casey Shea ’26 look on, Hannah Ruegg ’26 tries her hand at one game while (left) Max Rusov ’26 tries another at the Fryeburg Fair on New Hampshire Day. Jonathan Dion ’26, Mr. Lui and head prefect Luke Smolan ’26 react as Max misses again. photos by Ms. Jen Dumont