Under Stewart, the Daily Show gave late-night a satirical edge, exposing the hypocrisy of politicians and the media with lacerating commentary and smartly edited video clips. A spin-off, The Colbert ...

The occasion for this pre-mortem is, of course, the firing of Stephen Colbert, who announced two weeks ago that Paramount Global, CBS’ parent company, is canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Letterman’s look has certainly changed since he signed off at CBS; his cracker-barrel, old-settler, voluminous white beard is now his signature, instead of the cigars, the sneakers, the ...