Yesterday afternoon I live streamed the final episode of The Late Show. It was a terrible hour (plus) of television that managed to capture everything that has frustrated me about the show through its run.
While I like Stephen Colbert a lot and certainly wanted to like his tenure hosting The Late Show more than I ever actually did, the show never felt like it was anything more than content every night. It never had a consistent feeling that the show was special and that all eyes are on it.
This was always a show was going through the motions. And that was on full-display throughout this final episode. Colbert announced upfront that it would be like an ordinary episode, only to have the show interrupted by celebrities who all believed they would be his surprise final guest. It had all the comedic success of pre-awards banter at the Academy Awards – cringy and rarely funny.
For the final episode to be deemed a success, it had an additional challenge it had to meet: The audience is rightfully outraged that government interference has led to the cancellation of a comedy TV show at night. The President doesn’t like being made fun of and, in order to placate him, the show was given an expedient farewell on an accelerated timetable. If we are to maintain that outrage, the final episode needed to really demonstrate why we should love the show and why it should be missed.
Instead, the final episode delivered those cheesy celebrity gags, exceptionally weak monologue jokes, and the build-up to a mystery guest who has been a guest before on countless talk shows over the year. We also got a really badly executed taped bit with a giant wormhole opening in the theatre, serving clumsily as a metaphor for… I actually can’t remember the entire point of it. But I do know that we got yet another extended ‘comedy’ sequence with Colbert being counselled by his chummy talk show host friends John Oliver, the two Jimmys, and Seth Meyers. I’ve never groaned harder.
The final episode also has a really clunky switch between a pre-recorded final song with Colbert, Elvis Costello, and his musician friends in an empty space playing the Costello song Jump Up, but then switching to Paul McCartney leading the musicians in a performance of Hello Goodbye.
It seemed like they committed to one idea, then secured Paul McCartney where they could then execute a much better idea.
Having Paul McCartney singing Hello Goodbye was a perfect end for a talk show like this. McCartney brought a personal connection to that stage and an absolutely iconic song with exactly the sort of message the show wanted to deliver, with an upbeat spirit to it that ends the show on a really chipper tone.
I actually love that Paul McCartney was the final guest. But it hurt the show by keeping it a mystery – that created a weight of expectation that the interview couldn’t support. McCartney was a good pick in that he could talk to the cultural importance of the Ed Sullivan Theatre, having delivered its signature cultural moment with The Beatles playing on The Ed Sullivan Show there in 1964.
The show didn’t need three segments with McCartney.
The choice to focus on the theatre just highlighted one of the major problems with the show, which is how little the show made use of that theatre. Colbert’s Late Show could just as easily have been filmed anywhere. Unlike Letterman, Colbert’s show never left the theatre to make use of the surrounding streets, the local stores (Rupert Gee was right next door in the theatre’s shadows selling lunch and show merchandise right up until a few years back when he finally closed shop), or New York City at all.
Part of the magic of The Late Show with David Letterman was that it was filmed in “the greatest city in the world.” Viewers were always very aware that the studio was a real physical space in the middle of that great city. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert lacked location in the same way that every other studio-based talk show seems to.
My sadness at the cancellation of The Late Show is so much more about this grand theatre likely never to be used again be used for a TV show, than it is about the show itself going away.
RIP The Ed Sullivan Theatre. You are already missed.
Don’t miss out on one of the best shows of the year
Make sure you give Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed a look. It’s a twisty comedic thriller about a woman who gets caught up in a murder mystery that will cause huge harm to her bid to maintain custody of her daughter. The show is led by Tatiana Maslany who is so incredibly charming in this, along with a really strong supporting cast that includes Jake Johnson and Murray Bartlett.
It threatens to be less a TV show and really a “five hour movie,” but never falls for that nonsense. Instead it uses the strength of TV serialisation, with great cliffhangers that will have you desperate to press play on the next episode.
I fear that this is one of those shows that a lot of viewers will dismiss out of hand as from the outset it kind of looks like a bunch of generic dramas we saw during peak TV.
Returning TV
Skymed (s04), The Oval (s07), Death Valley (s02), Barrabrava (s02), The Chi (s08)
New TV
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed — Apple TV
Who’s in it: Tatiana Maslany, Jake Johnson, Jessy Hodges, Murray Bartlett, and Dolly de Leon
What’s it about? Newly divorced mom Paula falls down a rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer; convinced she witnessed a crime, while struggling through a custody battle and an identity crisis, Paula begins her own investigation.
The Boroughs — Netflix
Who’s in it: Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman, Clarke Peters, and Denis O'Hare
What’s it about? In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a crew of unlikely heroes must stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don't have: time.
Mating Season — Netflix
Who’s in it: Zach Woods, Nick Kroll, June Diane Raphael, Sabrina Jalees
What’s it about? In the search for love, we're all animals. From the creators of Big Mouth comes Mating Season, a new adult animated comedy - set in the animal world - about love, sex, relationships, and the universal need to find a partner.
Two Weeks in August — BBC One
Who’s in it: Jessica Raine and Damien Molony
What’s it about? A Greek holiday with friends to relax and reconnect. But when Zoe acts on her desires, heaven quickly turns into hell.
You’re Killing Me — Acorn TV
Who’s in it: Brooke Shields, Amalia Williamson, and Tom Cavanagh
What’s it about? Set in a quaint New England town, the mystery follows bestselling novelist, "Allie" (Shields), who forms an unlikely alliance with an aspiring writer and podcaster "Andi" (Williamson), to find the killer of a close friend. Cavanagh stars as "Jack," the new lead detective of the local Police Department and former city slicker who is trying to acclimate to the quirks of small-town life.
Falling — Channel 4
Who’s in it: Keeley Hawes; Paapa Essiedu; Rakie Ayola; Jason Watkins; Niamh Cusack; Adrian Scarborough; David Dawson
What’s it about? Sister Anna has been living a peaceful life as a nun in a convent for 20 years. But a chance encounter with intriguing priest Father David leaves her with an uneasy feeling and threatens to disrupt the order that has governed her whole life.
New Movies
Ladies First — Netflix
Who’s in it: Sacha Baron Cohen, Rosamund Pike, Charles Dance, Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Richard E. Grant, and Fiona Shaw
What’s it about? A male chauvinist is transported to a matriarchal society, facing challenges from a formidable female version of himself.
System — Prime Video
Who’s in it: Sonakshi Sinha, Jyotika, and Ashutosh Gowariker
What’s it about? A prosecutor teams up with a stenographer to uncover buried injustices, forcing a choice between power and justice.
That’s the newsletter for this week.
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