You have to admire the theater of it all. CBS cancels “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and a few months later, the Television Academy hands the corpse seven Emmys.

Let’s get the facts straight, because the media has decided this story is about Donald Trump, and it isn’t. Not entirely.

“The Late Show” won Outstanding Variety Series at the 78th Primetime Emmys on September 14, plus five Creative Arts Emmys for writing, directing, and production, plus one more for the digital short-form companion. Seven trophies for a show CBS had already killed. 

Now here’s the part the eulogies keep skipping: the show was reportedly losing around $40 million a year. 

The cancellation came days after Colbert called Paramount’s $16 million settlement of Trump’s “60 Minutes” lawsuit a “big fat bribe,” and Trump openly celebrated the show’s demise on Truth Social. Also I’d be remiss to leave out the 2025 Skydance Media merger with Paramount Global or even the 2026 acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. That’s enough to fuel plenty of speculation about what really happened behind the scenes — but it still doesn’t change the reported $40 million annual loss.

Maybe politics played a role. Maybe it didn’t. But speculation about political motivations doesn’t make the reported $40 million annual loss disappear. And this is what I find fascinating about the whole spectacle: CBS is ultimately a business. Whatever you think about Colbert, Trump, Paramount or late-night television in general, eventually somebody has to look at the numbers. Being popular isn’t necessarily enough. Being critically acclaimed isn’t necessarily enough. Even being the most-watched show in your corner of television isn’t necessarily enough if the business is no longer profitable.

And then there are the Emmys. The Emmys gave Stephen Colbert seven trophies. That’s the industry honoring its own, essentially a farewell bouquet for one of their guys. Fine. In a way, he earned every one of them. Some would say Colbert became exactly what Hollywood wanted him to be: a puppet. Who could forget the vaccine dancers? Call it his “tell me you sold your soul without telling me you sold your soul” moment. Hollywood applauded, and the Emmys did too. But apparently applause doesn’t pay for studio time. Awards can tell you that an industry respects you. Ratings can tell you that people are watching. Neither necessarily tells you whether the business behind it is making money. The truth nobody at the afterparty wanted to say: You can be the most celebrated show in late night and still be a business failure.