Janīn ABBA is back. Or more accurately, ABBA never left.

Misoprostol without prescription More than four decades after the Swedish pop juggernaut disbanded in 1982, the disco darlings are conquering Spotify—and TikTok—with the same glittery gusto that once captivated roller rinks and teenage bedrooms.

This week, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” crossed one billion streams on Spotify, joining “Dancing Queen” in the platform’s Billions Club. But here’s the plot twist: half of those ears belong to Gen Z, the generation born between the late 90s to early rens.

How do you explain that? What is it about ABBA that has Gen Z swooning like it’s 1979?

For a generation raised on hyper-processed pop and algorithmic playlists, ABBA’s catalog offers something radical: sincerity. The music may sparkle with disco flair, but the emotions underneath—yearning, heartbreak, euphoria—are raw and real.

There’s no irony in “The Winner Takes It All,” just devastation dressed in satin. And Gen Z, for all their online wit and digital fluency, crave that kind of vulnerability.

But there’s more to this intergenerational love affair.

First, there’s the sound. ABBA’s arrangements are lush, their hooks undeniable. In a music space of minimalist bedroom pop and trap beats, the maximalist sheen of ABBA feels refreshing.

Songs like “Lay All Your Love on Me” and “Super Trouper” overflow with harmonies, strings, and synths. Even “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!,” a plea for companionship, gallops forward like a dopamine train.

Second, there’s the aesthetic. Gen Z didn’t invent vintage, but they perfected it. From fashion to fonts to filters, they’re remixing the past with 21st-century savvy.

ABBA’s sequins, flared pants, and glam stage presence fit perfectly into the digital nostalgia carousel. On TikTok, “Gimme!” has become the soundtrack for choreographed dances, makeup transitions, and tongue-in-cheek thirst traps. It’s disco as meme, and ABBA—knowingly or not—gets the punchline.

Third, there’s the story. Gen Z loves a saga, and ABBA has one. The romantic entanglements, the dramatic breakups, the against-all-odds reunion—all of it is rich with emotional lore.

Add in the theatricality of Mamma Mia! (both the musical and film franchise), and you’ve got a full-fledged mythology.

Spotify confirms that in 2025, Gen Z accounts for a whopping 50% of all ABBA streams. That’s over 11 million young listeners discovering the group for the first time—half of all new ABBA fans. And they’re not just playing the hits. Tracks like “Chiquitita” and “Money, Money, Money” are climbing Gen Z’s most-streamed list, suggesting the deep cuts resonate, too.

There’s a beautiful irony in it all. ABBA, long dismissed by critics as bubblegum fluff, now stand as emotional sages to a generation searching for meaning in the mess.

Their music is kitschy and deep, ridiculous and profound—sorta like life. When the world feels as unstable as a disco ball on a ceiling fan, maybe ABBA offers something stable: four voices in harmony, singing their guts out.

The winner DOES takes it all after all.

When CBS announced The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would end in May 2026, it arguably signed the obituary for traditional late‑night television.

And it’s hard to ignore the man behind it. Trump hailed the firing, calling the comedian a hack.

But Colbert wasn’t canceled for lack of talent or relevance—his show led the hour in total viewers and dominated the 18–49 demo for nine straight seasons. Instead, the move was a calculated surrender, a capitulation to an autocrat and a broadcasting model that has collapsed under its own weight.

A once‑invincible format is now gasping:

• Ad revenue for network late‑night programs dropped from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million in 2024  .
• Prime‑time ad sales eroded significantly—CBS itself claimed Colbert’s show lost $40–50 million annually, with a $20 million salary and a 200‑person crew to support  .
• Viewership fell too: from 3.1 million to 1.9 million, with ad revenues in the 11 p.m. slot dropping from $121M in 2018 to $70M in 2024  .

Even top‑performing shows like Colbert’s are no longer economically viable in the linear broadcast model.

Broadcast is bleeding viewers to streaming and social media:

• Streaming overtook cable and broadcast in June 2024, now capturing 44.8% of all TV usage versus broadcast’s 20% and cable’s 24%  .
• Nielsen reports show over 40% of total TV time is now dedicated to streaming platforms  .
• Pew Research: 83% of U.S. adults use streaming services, while only 36% maintain cable/satellite subscriptions  .
• Exploding Topics notes streaming holds a 36% share of total TV usage, with global subscriptions rising from 1.1 billion in 2020 to 1.8 billion in 2025  .
• YouTube, now delivering over 1 billion hours of TV content daily, surpasses traditional broadcast in living-room viewing  .

The audience has migrated, and so have the revenue streams—PPC ads, sponsorships, even direct subscriptions are redefining the media economy.

Late-night hosts once served as cultural arbiters. Now they’re optional extras:

Even top talent like Conan O’Brien shifted to online-first models via Team Coco, acknowledging where audiences now live.

Colbert’s cancellation wasn’t solely financial—its timing was telling. It came days after Colbert accused CBS/Paramount of a “$16 million bribe” to Trump for his $16 million settlement with 60 Minutes. Some allege the criticism hastened his demise—particularly as CBS pursues an $8.4 billion merger requiring FCC approval under a Trump-appointed chair.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and others called for scrutiny, warning that Colbert lost his job “because he dared criticize the president.” 

Stephen Colbert was the best of late-night: edgy, topical, and successful. Yet even he couldn’t survive the death rattle of network television, nor the political cost of dissenting voice. His sacking signals more than the cancellation of a show—it marks the death knell for an entire format.

In the streaming age, audiences don’t wait for late-night—they stream what they want, when the mood strikes. And if networks won’t pay—and won’t stand by their voices—then those formats become irrelevant.

Colbert lost not because he failed—it’s because in 2025, that game is over.

And because he dared criticize the president, his exit feels like more than a ratings casualty—it’s a dark foreshadowing of the shrinking space for political satire on mainstream TV.

The network that made late night must not be watching it anymore.

CBS will end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026, marking the quiet death of a loud tradition. No scandal, no ratings collapse, no creative dispute—just a memo, a merger, and a bottom line that couldn’t carry one of television’s last grown-ups.

Colbert took over the desk in 2015 after David Letterman retired. Letterman, of course, launched The Late Show in 1993, still steaming from NBC’s decision to hand The Tonight Show to Jay Leno. His jump to CBS wasn’t just a job change—it was television mutiny. It made The Late Show the outsider’s flagship.

Letterman made his bitterness funny. Colbert made his indignation useful. Both were at their best when something wasn’t sitting right.

Colbert was never the agent of chaos Letterman was. He didn’t throw pencils or roast guests for sport. But he did something equally rare: he brought intelligence and conviction to a time slot that usually prefers charm. He wasn’t afraid to drop the comedy when the moment called for clarity. In a field full of punchlines, he gave some context.

And now he’s being cut—not for failing, but for costing too much.

CBS claims the decision is financial. It likely is. The parent company, Paramount Global, is slashing expenses ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media. No one is replacing Colbert. The franchise is being retired. The Ed Sullivan Theater will go dark, just as the election cycle heats up.

Here’s some more context: The merger relies on Trump’s approval.

It’s fitting, in a way. The nation has decided it prefers cons to comedy.

And bean counters always loomed. Streaming overtook broadcast and cable this year. Ad revenue for network late-night shows has collapsed—from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million last year. Even the Emmys, which once celebrated the genre, could only come up with three talk show nominees this year.

There’s no denying the business case. But there’s also no denying the optics.

Colbert didn’t just entertain. He challenged. He called out Trump when few would. He went after hypocrisy—even in his own network. And he did it nightly, with a smile that rarely softened the blow. He was a critic, a commentator, and sometimes, a stand-in for the adult in the room.

It’s easy to say his act ran its course. But nothing has replaced it. What’s rising in late-night’s place isn’t sharper, smarter, or braver. It’s… cheaper.

Which brings us full circle.

David Letterman jumped ship because he got screwed by NBC. Stephen Colbert stayed until CBS pulled the rug. Different networks. Same punchline.

Maybe The Late Show was always destined to end this way—not with applause, but with accounting.

Colbert gets one more season. Then the lights go out. The show that once defined late-night dies with its host at the top of his game, the audience still tuning in, and the studio still humming.

That, more than anything, tells you what kind of business TV has become. The host who made sense of the madness just got cut for budgetary reasons.

That’s comedy.