I haven't missed an episode of The Colbert Report in the nine years that it's been on the air; over that time, I've watched it evolve from what I was afraid might be a one-note parody of right-wing hosts to something gloriously weird, silly, trenchant, and sublime, and something that I'm truly saddened to see come to an end. Yes, The Daily Show is still wonderful; yes, John Oliver (and Last Week Tonight) is amazing. But both of those shows are more of a commentary on the world, while Colbert's shtick transformed his show into satire, and allowed him to do things that no other show could get away with. His SuperPAC exposed the bizarre reality of campaign finance laws in a way no news story ever could. His "Better Know a District" segments had a way of actually getting past rote answers and exposing the reality of people's personalities. His wonderfully ironic speech allowed him to speak truth to power, resulting in one of the most incredible White House Correspondents' Dinner speeches of all time. And if that's not enough, he could also be sublimely silly, dueling with death, fighting minotaurs, twerking about elections, and who knows what else. I don't doubt that Stephen Colbert will do amazingly as a late night host, and I bet I'll enjoy what I watch of his show. But I can't deny that I'll miss the controlled, intelligent anarchy of The Colbert Report, which managed to be both one of the smartest shows on television and one of the most childish, and segued between the two perfectly. It's going to leave a void behind, and my night time viewing is lesser without it around.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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