On May 21st, Stephen Colbert signed off for the last time on The Late Show after an 11-year run. We knew that after the show ended on CBS he’d be busy working on the new Lord of the Rings project, but what we didn’t know was that he’d be back on TV less than 24 hours later. Colbert returned to host Only in Monroe, a public-access show he previously hosted in 2015, and the episode quickly surpassed a million views on YouTube. While his stint on Monroe was only one episode, it got me thinking about whether YouTube could eventually become the place where he returns.
We’ve Seen This Before
There are actually a lot of comparisons between how Stephen Colbert and Tucker Carlson left their respective networks. Both were figureheads who defined the networks they were on and eventually became popular enough that they no longer needed those networks for distribution. Tucker obviously went on to launch the Tucker Carlson Network (TCN), which claims to generate 56M views across X, YouTube, and TikTok.
Megyn Kelly is another example of a commentator who left a major network and built what’s now MK Media, with her flagship show The Megyn Kelly Show (4M subs) posting 10-minute clips on YouTube. I believe this trend isn’t going anywhere and that major political commentators will continue to develop and launch their own shows on social platforms.
Do The Economics Make Sense?
This is something I see a lot of people discuss when it comes to launching a show on YouTube. The primary ways these shows make money are through YouTube AdSense and direct brand partnerships. For a show like Colbert’s, which likely has a large production team, operating costs are probably significant. But we’ve now seen that these commentators don’t necessarily need high-end production.
This obviously becomes much more financially viable when you have a lean team, collect $25+ CPMs, and bring in significant revenue from brand partnerships (the X syndication deal, ALP Nicotine, Battalion Metals, PublicSq., etc.). The Late Show YouTube channel is already averaging around 2M views per upload, which shows there’s clearly demand for Colbert on the platform.
The Creator Scarcity Theory
In February, I wrote about something I called “The Creator Scarcity Theory.” The idea is that once you’ve broken through as a creator, the goal shifts from constantly trying to capture attention to being intentional about when and how you put yourself in the spotlight. I think that also applies to how Colbert handles the next few months. His appearance on Only in Monroe felt symbolic, and a lot of the social commentary around it leads me to believe he’s not returning to network television anytime soon. Instead, I think Colbert spends the year out of the spotlight, continuing work on LOTR: Shadow of the Past, the CBS show After Midnight, and building Spartina Industries. Then, when the scarcity is high enough, he makes a grand return on YouTube.
The Big Takeaway
The biggest names in television no longer need television to stay relevant. We’re entering a world where established hosts, commentators, and entertainers can leave major networks and still keep their audiences through platforms like YouTube, X, and podcasts. The economics and production style might look different, but the audience behavior has already shifted. If Colbert ever decides to return consistently, I think there’s a real chance it happens online instead of on another network.
Pope Leo XIV recently released a major encyclical (a formal letter addressed to Catholic bishops and the broader Church) focused on AI, warning about risks such as labor displacement, concentrated power, and the erosion of human dignity. Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah appeared alongside Vatican leaders during the rollout and praised the Church for bringing ethical perspectives into AI governance discussions. This marks a significant moment, elevating AI from a technology issue to a major moral and societal concern for the Church and the wider world.
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