Stephen Colbert returns to social media after end of ‘Late Show’
Stephen Colbert has returned to social media after bidding farewell to “The Late Show” in May with a wholesome post.
Stephen Colbert’s journalist daughter is reportedly leaving the same TV network that canceled her father’s late-night show earlier this year.
Madeleine Carlisle, the 30-year-old daughter of Colbert and wife Evelyn McGee Colbert, has stepped away from her job as an associate producer at CBS News’ “60 Minutes” a month before the premiere of the program’s 59th season, Status newsletter founder Oliver Darcy reported on Aug. 4.
USA TODAY has reached out to the show’s representatives for comment. Darcy noted that both Carlisle and a CBS News spokesperson declined to issue a comment for his reporting.
The Yale University graduate, who joined “60 Minutes” in 2022, contributed to a report on Pennsylvania’s fight against election misinformation, an Emmy-nominated segment about President Donald Trump’s pardon of Binance cryptocurrency exchange founder Changpeng Zhao and a sit-down with Sen. Rand Paul. She previously held roles as a staff writer at Time and politics editorial fellow at The Atlantic.
Carlisle’s father, Colbert, hosted the final episode of “The Late Show” on May 21, bringing an end to the franchise’s more than three-decade run on CBS that began with David Letterman.
Colbert had announced 10 months prior that CBS was pulling the plug on the show, a move that drew criticism of currying favor with the Trump administration during Paramount’s merger with Skydance, which required federal approval.
Paramount Global denied the accusations, describing the decision as “purely” financial.
Carlisle’s exit also comes on the heels of recent hirings as “60 Minutes” prepares to return in the fall. Conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat will be a correspondent for the newsmagazine broadcast, according to an email obtained by USA TODAY.
The email, which executive producer Nick Bilton sent to “60 Minutes” staff on Tuesday, July 28, also revealed Douthat will be joined by former “60 Minutes” contributor Norah O’Donnell. New contributors include “The Perfect Storm” author Sebastian Junger, Vice News alum Gianna Toboni and prominent British broadcaster Trevor Phillips.
’60 Minutes’ departures, returning correspondents
The 58-year-old newsmagazine has undergone a tumultuous year as CBS’ parent company, Paramount Skydance, attempts to successfully merge with Warner Bros. Discovery amid legal challenges.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss announced on May 28 that journalist and filmmaker Nick Bilton would executive produce the news program after Tanya Simon, who’d been the first woman to hold the top job, was one of several staffers let go from the show.
Days later, CBS News terminated Pelley after he spent more than two decades with the program. He was fired on June 2 for criticizing CBS News leadership in a heated staff meeting in which he’d accused Weiss of “murdering” the news institution and rebuking newly minted executive producer Bilton for his “slender” TV news qualifications.
Aside from Pelley and Simon, a slew of other “60 Minutes” staffers have been let go, including executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, and, more recently, longtime producer Henry Schuster.
In May, Anderson Cooper signed off on the news program for the final time after two decades with the show, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
In June, correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim confirmed they would return for Season 59.
“60 Minutes” returns to CBS on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY