Stephen Colbert
Drogan's Encyclopedia - We Ain't Wikipedia
Stephen Colbert is an American "comedian", but better known as a political hack. Colbert has the distinctive honor of bringing in some of the lowest ratings in commercial television history.
TV Ratings
Colbert, now the host of Late Show, is very competitive in his time slot. He consistently places in the top 10. The ratings as of late 2022 is as follows.
10. Jimmy Fallon
9. Jimmy Kimmel
8. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
7. Good Evening, Roanoke
6. Juiceman Juicer Infomercial Reruns
5. Static
4. TV Station Signoff
3. WKRP in Cincinnati
2. Benson
1. Body by Jake the Snake
*Note that the show Guttfeld is not included in the ratings because he is part of Fox News.
Shtick
Colbert's shtick involves either pretending he's a conservative or just flat out making fun of conservatives. Little thought is put into the monologue or the skit, it is usually just stereotypical banter disguised as humor. Colbert's audience usually laughs vehemently based on what the "applause" light in the studio tells them to do.
Colbert has essentially been playing the same character and shtick since the early 2000's. It is certainly as fresh today as it was all those decades ago, regardless of the ratings.
Comedic Style
Colbert's comedic style is described as neo-reticent humor. This style of humor is the kind where the audience stays silent after a punch line or what would be the normal finish of the remark. The only remarks that illicit a response are usually remarks that Trump (or some other prominent Republican) is going to jail. In those cases, it is generally cheers and not authentic laughter.
While many believe that Colbert is simply a mean-spiritual anti-intellectual oaf, it has been posited that his actions are caused by an experimental lobotomy performed by his best friend Tolly Wacholz with an ice pick and a sledgehammer when they were in junior high school.