John Oliver is calling the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “incredibly sad.”
While speaking to reporters over the weekend, Oliver was asked his thoughts about the news, which CBS revealed in a surprise announcement on Thursday.
“Obviously, I love Stephen, I love his staff, I love that show — it’s incredibly sad,” the Last Week Tonight host responded. “I’m partly excited to see what they’re gonna do for the next 10 months. It’s terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy.”
Oliver and Colbert both served as correspondents on The Daily Show — though not at the same time — and are friends, with Oliver having appeared on Colbert’s show over the years. Oliver also noted he grew up watching The Late Show in England, when David Letterman was host.
“Late-night shows mean a lot to me, not just because I work in them, because even growing up in England, I would watch Letterman’s show, which of course was Stephen’s show, and think about what a glamorous world that was,” he said. “So to have got to have been on Letterman’s show and Stephen’s show was always one of the most fun things. So it’s very, very, very sad news. I look forward to seeing what [Colbert is] gonna do next because that man will not stop.”
Colbert shared the show’s live audience during the taping of Thursday’s show at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, drawing boos from the audience. He said he’d been told about the decision the night before.
In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Last Week Tonight, meanwhile, is on hiatus until July 27. Oliver was talking to reporters in Erie, Pa. — home of the newly rebranded minor league baseball team the Moon Mammoths. The team formerly known as the Erie SeaWolves will play four games under the new moniker, but it’s unclear if the name will be permanent.
“This is entirely for the people of Erie and this team to decide now,” Oliver said, according to YourErie.com. “If they want to go back to the SeaWolves, this has been fun. If they want to keep the Moon Mammoths forever, have it.”
Erie Mayor Joe Schember declared the day as Moon Mammoth Day and presented Oliver with a key to the city. The new name is inspired by George Moon’s discovery of a mammoth skeleton in Lake Pleasant in 1991.
Saturday night’s game drew a record crowd of 7,070 at UPMC Park.