The Colbert Collapse: How Television's Sharpest Satirist Lost His Edge

And then came CBS. On Comedy Central, Colbert was a must-watch. You never quite knew what he was going to do, because the character he had built was expansive and strange enough to go anywhere and say anything. On CBS, you always knew exactly what he was going to say. The monologue would skewer President Donald Trump. The desk piece would skewer Trump. The guest interview would pivot, at some point, to Trump. The format was not revelatory — it was reactive. When you strip away the character, you strip away the distance. Satire requires a certain remove from its target — the Colbert of Comedy Central had that remove built into his form. The Colbert of CBS was, increasingly, just a smart and angry man behind a desk, preaching to a choir that already knew every hymn. Variety, reviewing the final season, called the show “not very good TV” and “out of touch with everyday Americans.” That verdict, however harsh, is not wrong.