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Same Name Blames The Audience

[Blind Gossip] Now that his show is not receiving the ratings that he thinks it should, this talk show host is blaming… the audience! However, those around him think that he has no one to blame but himself.

He’s a comedian. He knows that if you do character comedy, you give the character their own ID (like Sacha Baron Cohen with Borat or Paul Reubens with Pee Wee Herman). However, he has a big ego and he decided to use his own name for the character.

That was a mistake because when he moved to [the new project] and tried using the same name with a a different personality, people got confused. He is blaming the audience for “not being smart enough” to “get it.” LOL. He has no one to blame but himself. His ego may have just cost him his show.

Similar: The Sub Conscious Baby Name

Talk Show Host:

[Optional] Who/what do you think is to blame for his show’s lack of success?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sonoviva says

    Colbert. I was excited to hear he got the job after Letterman left, but he’s fallen completely flat. He has so little personality; it’s boring to watch him. Especially when you have the antics of Fallon (albeit he is a drunk, but still entertaining) and the jovial sarcasm of Kimmel coming up against him. I think CBS should have done anything they could to keep Craig Ferguson. They should hire Conan O’Brien or James Corden to replace Colbert. I miss Conan and I’m sure he’d love to go back…

  2. spoofbyrd says

    Colbert and it wasn’t a bad decision for CBS to pick him because it is a clean break from Letterman which they needed but he seems long in the tooth for the Millennial age group which is the now and future audience for that time slot. I also noticed that booking is really weak especially for musical acts. I do think people are too hard on him but it is a ratings driven game and who knows . Still he has to be himself !

  4. anyanka2 says

    Stephen Colbert.

    He was wise to end the Colbert Report and retire the “Stephen Colbert” character when he did. I’m not sure there was much more he could have done with the character.

    I do think that CBS is to blame. They’ve tried to force his subversive genius into a more corporate friendly box. There have been hints of the pre-CBS Colbert that have escaped – the Hungry for Power Games, Laura Benati as Melania Trump, most of his 2016 coverage of this horror show of an election.

  5. Baileygirl says

    This is Colbert. The genius of Carson and Leno was that they skewered both sides of the political aisle. No one wants to listen to preachy, leftist BS anymore. NOT FUNNY!

    CBS should look at Tom Shillue, the host of RED EYE on FOX. He is funny, clean, witty and can give both sides of an argument…not to mention his barbershop quartet! Make Andy Levy (the Red Eye ombudsman) his sidekick and you have a winning formula.

    Any Red Eye fans in the house?

    • sweetdee7 says

      CBS would never hire anyone from FOX. Likely they want to move Corden up an hour in which case, NBC will be the biggest winners.

    • Baileygirl says

      Too bad. Shillue is great and so is Andy Levy. Libertarians are funny! Love those two. Maybe CBS should not judge a book by its cover because what they are doing with that tiresome leftist stuff is not working anymore. If they were smart they would hire someone like Shillue and shake up the lineup.

  7. Kerzep says

    Stephen Colbert

    I honestly think that he’s too intelligent for most of the late night audiences.

    • scumby says

      No, the smart people aren’t watching late night talk shows. He is just another arrogant leftist bore who isn’t half as smart as he or she think they are (Meyers, Bee, Kimmel, Corden, Colbert, O’Brian)

    • butwhatever says

      Can’t agree with two of your sub-points:
      1. Whether you think he’s stuck up or not, Conan really IS that smart (Harvard grad)
      2. Jimmy Kimmel is anything but overly impressed by his own intelligence

  9. memommamo says

    Stephen Colbert. I (like a lot of millennials) don’t have cable or satellite, so I never catch his shows. If I can’t get it on Netflix or Amazon, I probably won’t ever see it.

  10. Realistic says

    Stephen Colbert
    Honestly, other late night shows are just more fun to watch. So maybe blame the audience less and get some new material.

  14. renee c says

    Stephen Colbert. Watch him every night; love him!

    Reasons for lack of success in ratings: the name thing, lots of competition at that time slot or maybe the divisive nature of the past year.

  15. prinny says

    Stephen Colbert and it truly breaks my heart….

    He shouldn’t have been offered the gig to begin with. He was so associated with his right wing character that to morph into moderate talk show host wasn’t going to work. How could he have done Late Night as a character? Impossible. If he had done the character in another name way back when, then done Late Night as himself Stephen Colbert he would have had a fresh slate to work with. I feel sorry for him.

  16. butwhatever says

    Stephen Colbert.

    Once the other character was established, he was kind of stuck: you can’t exactly make up a new name for your real self.

    Optional: I honestly think the biggest reason for the low ratings is that you simply can’t get very high ratings any more. There are too many talk-show options for that to happen, never mind other entertainment, from podcasts to on-demand. Nobody will ever pull Carson, Letterman or Leno numbers again.

  20. jaz813 says

    Wow is this Stephen Colbert? Never would’ve pegged him as a guy with a big ego but can’t think of anyone else who might fit.

  23. xphile101 says

    Obviously Stephen Colbert, which is a shame. I like him, and I liked his “character,” too. I think the lack of success has more to do with the glut of late night shows than anything else. He should go back to doing political stuff – we need his voice more than ever now.

  27. OkayIGuessIAmIn says

    2) Colbert is a solid second behind Fallon most nights and slightly grew his audience over the last year. Maybe it wasn’t the runaway success he and the people around him would have liked, but his ratings aren’t tanking.

    The thing is, I can’t think who else this could be referring to. It does say ‘talk show’ not ‘late night’ host, and BG often does differentiate between the two, but is there anyone else who used their own name who is on a daytime talk show?

  34. funkyhomosapien says

    Stephen Colbert?

    A couple of my right-wing acquaintances didn’t quite get that The Colbert Report was satire and were confused by his sudden change of tone …

  38. Kimmie says

    Stephen Colbert

    I think he should have changed the name of his new show, or stayed on Comedy Central on the Colbert Report. He’s really funny. Too bad his ego is too big to realize that.

  40. lightgirl says

    Stephen Colbert
    Just as you said, same name-different personality-confusing for the audience
    Sometimes it’s better to stick with what works to avoid audience alienation.

  41. alystina says

    Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report persona was based on Bill O’Reilly. His real persona is bland and boring. He should just have stayed in character.

  46. ccattwood says

    Jerry Seinfeld …Comedians in Cars or some such lame show..Never heard of it before but I guess that’s his new project. Blame himself and his ego for the failure.

  47. bertwheeler says

    Colbert!

    His audience gets it. It’s just that it isn’t big enough to get better ratings. Could be he’s not as funny as he thinks he is, either.

    I’m totally cool with hosts doing political humor — but they shouldn’t be surprised if they turn off half their potential viewers. I’m starting to think that Fallon is a genius by being so nonpolitical.

  49. jonesing says

    Stephen Colbert

    Maybe a late night show isn’t for him. I watched the old show and was excited for his new format but after a couple of episodes…eh.

  51. beautysleep says

    It pains me to say this is Colbert, but it is totally Colbert.

    He went from playing to His People™ to playing to a broader audience, half-ish of which elected Trump and is not part of the core value set he was reaching on Comedy Central. I think he overestimated his late night audience.

  52. Monysmom says

    I hope this isn’t Stephen Colbert , but then again, I haven’t really watched him since he left The Colbert Show – also not watching the Daily Show without Jon Stewart.

  56. gailpow says

    Steven Colbert,

    Perhaps the competition he has with jimmy Fallon to book guests for the show has Colbert coming out on the short end of the stick?

  60. alternageek says

    going with stephen colbert.

    i dont think he has an ego, and i do blame some people not being able to differentiate between character and a person. i dont think theyre stupid, but just not very bright.

    its hard to fill david lettermans shoes. i think colbert would have been a better fit to take over the late late show rather than the late show. not sure who should go into the 11.35 slot, but ideally it should be a woman (though not Bee, as she rocks at her show)

  66. ninanicole says

    If it’s Stephen Colbert then I think it’s the audiences fault for not getting what was clearly a joke. I know so many people here in the South that loved The Colbert Report but we’re shocked when he cheered Obama’s win..like really?

  69. maudlin22 says

    Stephen Colbert

    I think the biggest problem is going up against Fallon, in the time slot and in viral videos. A big part of late night is clips from the show making the rounds on the internet, all of the other shows have that in some capacity and I just don’t see that with Colbert’s show

  70. dena37 says

    Stephen Colbert.

    I get it and I like him. I watch snippets of his show on Youtube all the time.

    It’s weird that people still watch TV.

  72. Ellis Bell says

    Stephen Colbert. I’ve noticed since his live shows during the R and D conventions he’s been doing more of a hybrid of his Colbert Report personality and his real personality. If this blind is indeed about Colbert, I’m a bit surprised as I didn’t think he was such an a*s.

  75. PriveNom says

    Stephen Colbert

    Reason: His current competition makes him seem out of touch with millennials, the current dictator’s of ratings.

  88. JenJenJen says

    Don’t tell me this is Stephen Colbert???

    Think the show isn’t doing too well because it’s trying to be too many things. It wants to be satirical and political but it also has to be a chat show because that’s what the legacy is. He’s not very good at the general celeb chitchat though in my opinion.

  93. DivaKarma says

    Colbert! I did love the comedy central show. He doesn’t seem like a big ego guy to me but he’s much better for a 12:30 slot

  95. dynamodavid says

    Talk Show Host: Steven Colbert

    Who/what do you think is to blame for his show’s lack of success?

    CBS! I think they are holding him back from doing the edgy comedy he did while on the Colbert Report.
    (CBS is restricting him by forcing him to be too politically correct!)
    Plus, late night talk show competition is at an all-time high. I even think James Corden will fail when they move him up a time slot.

    • sweetdee7 says

      Corden is doomed to fail if they move him up because being directly against Fallon would reveal that he’s a poor imitation.

  96. jonty30 says

    Stephen Colbert.

    It also doesn’t help matters to have made half your potential audience a target of your comedy.

  98. buddypal says

    Talk Show Host: Stephen Colbert

    Optional: I like Stephen’s show better than any other. I don’t think he’s to blame. He’s the best interviewer of the late night hosts and it’s refreshing that he brings on politicians, CEOs and scientists as guests, not just all regular celebs. If anything, TV viewers are to blame since apparently the majority prefer to watch celebrities play games over anything else.

  100. sunshine702 says

    Stephen Colbert

    I think the change in his character between the Colbert Report and The Late Show is to blame.

  103. MrFahrenheit says

    Colbert

    It’s his fault. The character from The Colbert Report was funny, and now that he’s dropped his schtick, the real Stephen Colbert just isn’t charismatic enough to carry an hour-long show.

  105. Shawny2222 says

    Stephen Colbert.

    I liked his late night show in the beginning, but I have now been totally turned off due to his inflated ego, sense of self worth, and his condescending behavior. The recent presidential election really brought all of that out for the world to see. I can’t stand that smug look he sports and how he behaves as if everyone is stupid, and thus, are worthless peasants.

  106. kimshady says

    Stephen Colbert. Turns out his actual personality isn’t funny. He doesn’t connect with the guests and is very boring when not in his Comedy Central character. He can’t compete with James Corden.

  107. dallitude says

    Stephen Colbert. His real personality is to blame, he’s just another whiny unpleasant leftist.Theyre a dime a dozen in Manhattan

    • chicagogirl says

      The reason? The people who watch tv that late tend to be a little younger. The audience that was loyal to Dave has approached elderly status, and the younger folks who watched Colbert on Comedy Central are the highest percentage of cord cutters – those who watch shows via Netflix and Hulu and Amazon.

      The market is also super saturated, and a lot of people were already following a routine of watching one of the Jimmy’s, but there is also decent competition from Conan and Corden.

  110. bhakti says

    I love Stephen Colbert and don’t see him as having a huge ego. Maybe I’m naive but I think he’s pretty down to earth compared to some of those guys. I hope he doesn’t lose the show. He’s great imo

  112. amagod121 says

    Bill Clinton!!! No, my real guess is Stephen Colbert. Whom I dearly used to love before he got all preachy.

  117. flashbeagle says

    Stephen Colbert

    He really owned his character the first time around. It should not come as a surprise that people don’t get the “real” Stephen.

  119. sweetdee7 says

    Stephen Colbert. It’s bloody confusing to see where he begins and where the character ends.

    Who/what do you think is to blame for his show’s lack of success? Two things. 1. CBS. Should have left him alone on Comedy Central where he belonged. 2. James Corden, his PR and the one man crusade to get the Late Show is undermining him at every opportunity.

  121. KCeagle says

    Stephen Colbert

    He’s to blame for not listening to advice. I’ve never cared for Colbert anyway. But to blame the audience (which I’m not a part of) because his show is lame? Go back to basic cable, if they’ll take him back.
    Or he could try to revamp the weak product he puts out. Edge it up sonny.

  123. ricwash says

    This has to be Stephen Colbert. With the Colbert Report he was playing a comedic version of a conservative pundit. With the new late show, he is playing a different “character”, but I don’t think he realizes that you really have to separate from your characters in order to make it work.

  124. griswold89 says

    Clearly Colbert.

    He should never have been given the Late Show. He was a niche character, on cable, pulling niche numbers. He doesn’t have broad appeal.

    I think his ego got the better of him and it’s hurting him. I don’t think he’ll be able to turn it around.
    He’s too condescending and unfunny.

  126. Vagabondage says

    Stephen Colbert

    His character on Comedy Central was hilarious, but he’s falling flat on The Late Show. Watching his Christmas show on 12/16, it almost seemed as if he was signaling so long. IDK.

  127. emmbee says

    Stephen Colbert? I LOVED the Colbert Report, but I don’t think the CBS audience is right for him…I feel like it’s an older, more conservative crowd and his schtick went right over their heads. I also feel like times are changing and late night TV will undergo massive changes to adapt to the streaming era

    A

    • Crisesaverted says

      I was beginning to wonder if anyone else here had cable. Agree with you 100%. It’s not the right audience. And there are hundreds of shows to watch now. And agree again late night will certainly change. I don’t watch any of it and haven’t in years. I watched ‘Horace and Pete’ last night.

  128. ellejae says

    Stephen Colbert

    Yes, I blame him. His real personality comes off a little bit prick-ish. His character was an endearingly blissful idiot.

  129. CatBallou says

    Stephen Colbert

    And I dont think it has to do with people being confused – I just dont think his show is that great.

  130. smileyriot says

    Stephen Colbert

    He was a character on the Colbert Report but now is trying to be a serious talk show host…

  131. annlar says

    Stephen Colbert. Well, I kind of agree with him, but I also don’t think it’s the problem with the show… Personally I think it’s just not that funny and others do political humor better nowadays.

  134. GretaGuesses says

    Stephen Colbert

    It’s the fault of both. Colbert was really only entertaining when he was basically imitating O’Reilly. That doesn’t really translate to being a good interviewer. Colbert really is just not that interesting as a person. The network should have known this, and perhaps tested him out before giving him a show. I think they actually hired the Colbert persona, thinking that was the real Colbert. Boring show, though!

  135. scumby says

    Stephen Colbert
    Only himself to blame. People are sick of all these unfunny leftist “comedians” lecturing and attacking non-leftists.

    • pattycakes says

      Exactly this. People want to tune in to a comedy show for an escape of reality for a bit. And when you’re constantly being marginalized in a comedy skit, because Hollywood’s brainwashing propaganda simply isn’t working anymore, people tune out. SNL is even worse.

      People don’t care what your political views are, Mr. Entertainer. Shut up and make us laugh without further dividing us.

    • northofyou says

      Speak for yourself, please. I think he’s very funny, and agree that some people aren’t too bright.

  136. Zap The Sheep says

    Stephen Colbert.

    He just isn’t funny. Didn’t like him on Comedy Central and don’t like him on CBS. They really screwed the pooch by not paying everything they had to keep Craig Ferguson. He was genuine and funny. I don’t care for Colbert or Corden, and I have not watched late night CBS since Craig left.

    • stanton says

      I agree that is Colbert. The character he created for his comedy central show was weird, When I herd he was taking David Letterman’s place I thought then that would be a mistake. The persona he created was one that if that person was REAL you would avoid him in real life.