Tough news for Stephen Colbert: two of his TV shows were just canceled. Not only is the Late Show host off the air due to the WGA writers strike, he just had two of his other TV shows totally canceled. Colbert was executive producing the animated series Tooning Out The News and the talk show Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God, but according to a report by Deadline, both of Colbert’s side projects are canceled. The Paramount Global Network opted to axe the shows, both of which aired on Comedy Central.
“We will not be resuming production on another season of Hell of A Week,” a spokesperson for Comedy Central said. “We thank Charlamagne and the amazing team behind the show for its impactful conversations and the incredible collaboration as we look ahead to our future partnership with Charlamagne.” As for Tooning Out the News, they added: “The Emmy award-nominated Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News pushed the boundaries of satirical news and disrupted the late-night landscape with its outspoken animated anchors. We are deeply grateful to Stephen Colbert, RJ Fried, the production team and the talented actors and animators for their unwavering partnership and dedication.”
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Tooning Out The News premiered in April of 2020 exclusively on the streaming service CBS All Access, which was later rebranded as Paramount+. It featured a cast of animated newscasters and other characters in vignettes and sketches that mocked the news of the day and the broadcast news industry itself. It centered around anchor James Smartwood (Fried), and also starred Maureen Monahan, Jack Bensinger, Naima Pearce, Ike Ufomadu, Zach Smilovitz and Addison Anderson. It shared much of the creative team from Our Cartoon President – another Colbert-produced animated series that aired on Showtime during the president of Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Hell of a Week premiered in September of 2021 – originally with the title Tha God’s Honest Truth. It was a half-hour talk show which gradually leaned into more a panel style with a host of ecclectic guests engaged in discussions more than interviews. It often explored politics and social issues with guests who had a broad range of backgrounds and political associations. The episode where Charlamagne spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris made national headlines when Charlamagne pressed her on the inordinate power of Sen. Joe Manchin. She told the host: “Stop talking like a Republican.”
It sounds like Comedy Central is more than open to further collaborations with Charlamagne Tha God, who continues to host The Breakfast Club on nationally syndicated radio. As for Colbert, he has put his full support behind the WGA and the striking writers, and has not commented publicly on his TV work since the strike began.
