Ellison’s Late-Night Limbo

Indeed, the reality is that the ground under not only Stewart, but also Stephen Colbert, is shifting fast. Skydance, led by Larry and David Ellison, now believes its merger with Paramount will close in the next several weeks, I'm told. Much of the attention has focused on how the Ellisons will reshape "60 Minutes" and CBS News. We first reported that David Ellison met with Bari Weiss about a possible role at CBS News, and it is clear the Ellisons want to rid the network of what they see as a liberal taint. But little has been said about the futures of Colbert and Stewart, who have been two of Trump’s most consistent comedic antagonists, under the new corporate leadership.

It’s not like Trump’s dislike of Colbert is a secret. The two have repeatedly traded barbs over the years—and Trump has outright called for his firing. Last September, Trump ranted on Truth Social, calling him “not funny” and “very boring.” But he also went further, adding, “CBS should terminate his contract and pick almost anyone, right off the street, who would do better, and for FAR LESS MONEY—Or I could recommend someone, much more talented, and smarter, who would do it for FREE!"

It goes without saying that Paramount and Skydance have certainly proved they will take extraordinary measures to appease Trump. Shari Redstone officially settled Trump's widely-panned lawsuit for $16 million, in addition to forcing CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” boss Bill Owens out of the company. Further, Trump has nodded to a side-deal with the Ellisons, saying he expects to receive millions of dollars in free public service announcements for causes he supports as part of the settlement, which Skydance has not commented on.

As one media insider put it to me this week, “What better gift could [the Ellisons] give Trump than to get rid of Colbert and Stewart?”

A separate CBS insider noted that after the "60 Minutes" settlement, “There is a general feeling by top talent that any stepping outside the lines comes with the risk that corporate would not have your back.” Colbert, the insider added, will face a choice: “Do I want to keep doing this, knowing management won’t have my back? And my budget will be cut and I have a lot of money, so why not go out now? Or do I love this job and my staff and it’s a megaphone that’s tough to replicate?”

Stewart’s contract is up in December, while Colbert is signed through 2026. It’s unlikely Skydance would overtly fire either comedian. But letting Stewart, who is on once a week and likely commands a hefty paycheck, exit would be easy to frame as an economic decision, not a political one, even if the subtext is clear. Comedy Central, where "The Daily Show" airs, is a dying linear asset, after all. And Paramount has already trimmed back late-night comedy, canceling “After Midnight.”

In other words, the new Paramount leadership could present these moves as cost-cutting measures for struggling linear television, while achieving the political benefit of silencing two of Trump’s loudest critics on the airwaves.

Colbert, however, would present a particularly thorny challenge. As CBS' most visible figure, and the highest-rated late night broadcast host, his nightly skewering of Trump has become a staple for millions of viewers. His departure would signal not just a programming shift, but a cultural one that could ignite fierce backlash among his army of loyal fans. It would also test how far Skydance is willing to go to reshape CBS in the image they envision.

“There’s never been a time when a political figure being treated humorously by comedians has exerted some sort of pressure to eliminate them,” Bill Carter, the veteran New York Times media reporter who now writes for LateNighter, told me. “That would be a big-time statement about where we are in the country if anything like that happened.”

People familiar with the Skydance takeover have told me the primary topic in meetings with the current Paramount team has been focused on “what generates revenue,” not politics. Yet it is hard to separate the two. Stewart himself underscored the point this week, using his "Daily Show" megaphone to warn that business titans bending the knee to Trump is a threat to democracy, even if it’s dressed up as a smart settlement. Whether Stewart and Colbert will be allowed to keep delivering that message under the new ownership is a question that will loom large over CBS as the merger nears completion and the new team takes charge.

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MAGA’s Epstein Fury: Donald Trump and his administration are trying to extinguish the raging firestorm they ignited. On Tuesday, the president pushed back on questions about his FBI and DOJ’s stunning announcement that there was no Jeffrey Epstein “client list” or blackmail of high-profile figures—claims his appointees had whipped up into a conspiratorial frenzy. Asked by a reporter about the memo, Trump furiously called the journalist a “creep” and slammed the questions as “a desecration.” But the defensive response only further ignited the flames, with Trump’s MAGA Media allies ripping the reaction online. “This is an Epstein whitewash project,” Alex Jones declared. “I think this threatens to blow up the whole thing,” Tucker Carlson remarked. “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?” Elon Musk wondered aloud, stoking the flames with numerous retweets on X. “Pam Bondi should resign—not because of a cover-up, but for incompetence,” Glenn Beck raged.

► Look here, look here! Just as Bondi comes under scrutiny, a story was leaked to Fox News Tuesday evening about how the FBI has launched criminal investigations into John Brennan and James Comey. Surely a coincidence and not a distraction!

Upsetting the Apple Cart: Significant changes are afoot in Cupertino. On Tuesday, Apple announced its chief operating officer Jeff Williams will step down from his long-time role, passing the baton to his lieutenant Sabih Khan later this month. Williams, who was once seen as a possible successor to Tim Cook, instead will retire later this year as part of a “long-planned succession,” the company said. Cook celebrated Williams as a key architect of the company’s supply chain and for his leadership of Apple’s renowned industrial design team. But the shakeup, one of the tech giant’s biggest in years, comes amid broader challenges at the iPhone maker, which has struggled to respond to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence developers, including OpenAI and Google. Just one day ago, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta—on an exorbitant A.I. hiring spree—poached Apple’s top leader in charge of its A.I. models, dealing another blow to Apple Intelligence efforts.

‘Superman’ Set to Soar: Warner Bros. executives were surely breathing a sigh of relief on Tuesday afternoon as the embargo on “Superman” reviews ended with widespread critical praise. On Rotten Tomatoes, the James Gunn-directed reboot boasted an 87% score based on 135 critics, far surpassing the 2016 “Batman v Superman,” 2013 “Man of Steel,” and even the 2006 “Superman Returns.” And the stakes for the latest film could not be higher. WBD boss (for now) David Zaslav placed a big bet on James Gunn and Peter Safran’s revamped DC Studios to reestablish the DC brand as a profitable cinematic universe in his IP-driven comeback strategy. But while critics are praising the studio’s first film and Gunn has downplayed expectations, its box office success remains an open question. Industry projections have the film headed for a $130 million domestic opening weekend, but will the critical praise send it up, up and away?