Corporate Weasel Who Fired Colbert Now In Charge Of Comedy Central
Credit: paramount.com
August 5, 2025

The CEO who oversaw the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will soon be taking over South Park following the Paramount/Skydance merger. Via the Daily Beast:

George Cheeks, the co-CEO of Paramount Global and president and CEO of CBS, has also been named chair of TV Media at Paramount following the company’s merger with Skydance, Deadline reports.

While other scripted productions will be folded into Paramount TV Studios, South Park will be part of Cheeks’ portfolio, which also includes Paramount’s broadcast and cable properties like the CBS Network and CBS Studios, as well as Nickelodeon, BET, and Paramount Media Networks—which includes South Park’s longstanding home Comedy Central.

With Comedy Central in his portfolio, Cheeks will also be overseeing The Daily Show. Much like The Late Show, The Daily Show—particularly regular host (and former permanent host) Jon Stewart—is known for taking aim at the Trump administration.

Colbert’s criticisms of President Donald Trump, and Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with Trump to the tune of $16 million, are what led many to allege that his axing was political, not financial. Colbert called the settlement a ”big fat bribe” mere weeks before his show’s cancellation was announced, while Cheeks argued that the settlement was made in order to avoid an expensive and protracted legal battle.

Sounds like Comedy Central is now on Double Secret Probation! Nope, no fascism here!

🚨 Weasel of the Week 🚨 goes to CBS CEO George Cheeks.

While workers at The Late Show face uncertainty, Cheeks is quietly cutting deals with Trump—protecting profits and power, not people.

This is what happens when CEOs fold instead of fight.
Working people see exactly what’s going on.

SEIU_ORG (@seiu.org) 2025-07-25T22:48:15.929Z

What a bizarre attempt to go galaxy brained. It's not "missing the point" because removing comedians from the air if they offend dear leader is a classic hallmark of dictatorships. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/a...

Ned Resnikoff (@resnikoff.bsky.social) 2025-07-23T00:01:26.819Z

this story gets worse with every passing day... the intervention by the board is nauseating.
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social's scoop also includes this nugget:

@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) (@newsjennifer.bsky.social) 2025-07-22T12:40:59.268Z

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