W hen CBS embarked on the project of replacing David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, in 2014, the network spared no expense. It hired Stephen Colbert, who had collected Emmys and acclaim while hosting his Comedy Central talk show,

Former Late Show EP Rob Burnett tapped into his comedy writer background when he was asked about CBS' decision to ax the late-night franchise.

There may be no tougher — and sought-after — gig than hosting a network late-night TV show. Stephen Colbert joined that rarefied list of late-night hosts in 2015, when he took over CBS’s “The Late Show” from David Letterman.

Even CNN’s Brian Stelter, no fan of Trump, said as much, writing: “The bottom has indeed been falling out of the late-night TV business model for several years now. Audience fragmentation and digital competition have led to a decline in ad revenue across the board. One insider described it as ‘cratering’ at CBS.”

Joaquin Phoenix is looking back at the rollercoaster of awkwardness that etched his 2009 interview with David Letterman in late-night history.