A television industry expert predicts Seth Meyers could be the next late-night host to face the axe after Jimmy Kimmel's indefinite suspension over remarks about Charlie Kirk. In remarks to the Daily Mail, Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, framed the moment as part of a broader shift that could redefine which hosts survive on broadcast television.
"There is a theme going on here," Thompson said, tying Kimmel's suspension and the looming end of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to a broader realignment away from politically charged humor. "It could very well be that [Jimmy] Fallon is the last guy standing," he added, comparing Fallon’s comparatively apolitical approach to late-night legends Johnny Carson and Jay Leno.
Thompson argued Meyers has managed to stay under the radar thanks to Colbert and Kimmel's star power and earlier time slots. "Meyers is the one guy doing this type of comedy who hasn't been fired yet," he said, noting that "all the stuff that went on late night that was exciting and was covered the next day, the networks have given every indication that they don't want to be in that business anymore." The professor said networks may be choosing profits over confrontation, or opting to avoid the public battles that come with sharp political humor.
If Kimmel does not return to ABC, Thompson warned, NBC could become the only broadcast network with this style of late-night format after Colbert departs CBS next year. "If Kimmel doesn't return to ABC, NBC will be the only broadcast network with comedy people doing this type of format" after Colbert leaves CBS, he said.
Thompson noted that linear television had already begun deteriorating before the pandemic, and that newer generations who grew up watching Colbert and Kimmel may not view broadcast television as the primary home for late-night content. "Substack and YouTube is where the action is and where the audiences are. Every decision made by legacy companies is indicating that," he said. "These people will go to where these changes are happening and leave late night back to its old tradition of the Tonight Show. Carson and Leno, and now Fallon."
Meyers, Thompson suggested, could be hardest hit by any shift if Kimmel remains sidelined. "Meyers is the one guy doing this type of comedy who hasn’t been fired yet," the professor reiterated, against the backdrop of Kimmel’s air-time disruption. "There will be people who bemoan the changing of late night and people who celebrate the changing of late night. If I had to make a prediction, I think late night is, one, going back to where it used to be, where you had the Tonight Show and Carson." He added, "I think the Tonight Show might actually survive the collapse of late-night television."
The conversation underscores a broader view within media academia that the late-night format, once defined by a small core of marquee hosts, is undergoing a fundamental realignment. Thompson’s analysis reflects a landscape where audience habits, platform choices, and corporate risk calculations are reshaping who holds the traditional late-night chair, and where audiences turn when they seek topical humor or political commentary.
As Kimmel’s suspension drags on, the fate of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert remains uncertain, and Meyers’ future on NBC’s late-night slate appears equally unsettled in the eyes of some observers. While Meyers has benefited from the protection afforded by his established position and the star power of colleagues like Colbert, the shifting economics of network television could compress the window for any host to weather controversy. Thompson’s forecast, while speculative, highlights the tension between a demand for provocative content and the networks’ appetite for content with broad, advertiser-friendly appeal.
Observers note that the disruption also invites younger, non-traditional creators to fill the void on digital platforms, where audiences can be corporately or editorially independent. The trend toward online formats, including independent newsletters and video channels, suggests a gradual relocation of late-night influence away from traditional broadcast slots.
In this milieu, the idea that a single host will dominate the late-night conversation for years to come appears increasingly unlikely. If Fallon becomes the last long-running holdout on the broadcast side, as Thompson suggested, it could signal a return to a more conventional Tonight Show-era model. For Meyers and others watching from the wings, the next few months could determine whether there is still a viable space for politically minded humor, or if late night will revert to lighter, less controversial fare in pursuit of wider audiences and steadier revenues.