Learning that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was canceled sent a shock wave through those who tuned into the talk show. And even those who didn’t. This left Colbert’s future in question, but it doesn’t appear his time in front of the camera is over yet.
British journalist Rob Shuter, citing a source, spilled a small detail about Colbert’s next television prowess.
“Television may not be finished with him, either,” the source tells Rob Shuter. “Sources say Colbert is quietly developing ideas for a new on-camera project and hopes to reunite much of his current production team.”
This is obviously great news, should the source be correct, but until then — he’s keeping busy.
Colbert is taking some time to work on a new “The Lord of the Rings” film. An escape the source said has been a saving grace.
Writing is Saving Stephen Colbert Right Now
“Writing is saving him right now,” the insider reveals. “It’s giving him somewhere to channel everything he’s feeling.”
It’s also personal. Colbert will work with his son, Peter McGee, who also worked on “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” He’s also a big fan of the franchise.
“Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure,” the synopsis reads. “Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”
The 11-time Emmy Award winner told GQ that he found out about the cancellation from his boss. Not the powers that be.
How it All Went Down …
“They didn’t call me and tell me!” he said of CBS. “My manager told me.”
“They told him, and he told me…I was so tired. I was lying down on my couch with a pillow over my eyes, going, ‘Hey, James, what’s going on?’ I was prone. And he said, ‘This is going to be the last season.’ So I sat up and was like, ‘Oh, okay. Well, that’s interesting. I did not expect that.'”
He also was very transparent about the lesson he learned after the cancellation.
“What did I learn? Don’t trust billionaires!”
Since taking over the show in 2015, he has become one of the more beloved late-night hosts with the way he was able to balance charisma, humor, and his ability not to hold back. It ended up being a bigger loss than just a job. It was all-consuming, he’s said publicly.
“This wasn’t just a job—it was his identity,” one insider tells #ShuterScoop. “Stephen poured everything into that show. Losing it has hit him hard.”
“I love what we do, and I love the grind. You can only do one of these shows, do the jokes every night, year after year, for 20 years, if you give a damn at all about what you’re talking about,” he said. “And I do. But there is a sense of relief that I might not have to put on the snorkel and get into the sewer every day.”
