Ashley Rickards has launched an online campaign encouraging Stephen Colbert to bring a new talk show to PBS following the conclusion of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. After her initial post on X gained attention, Rickards expanded on the idea in a detailed Instagram post.
Ashley Rickards pitches new PBS talk show for Stephen Colbert
Ashley Rickards took to X three days after the final episode of The Late Show aired and wrote, “Uhm. Colbert could save PBS. Please have your NEW show on PBS. We will buy all the tote bags. PLEASE.”
The actor and director best known for her role in Awkward further told Late Nighter that the idea gained momentum quickly, with over 485,000 views within 48 hours. Taking the cue from this, Rickards took to her Instagram profile and explained the plan in detail.
“Last night I posted a silly tweet on my X account about Colbert saving PBS, and apparently the internet agreed. So I did a little math and made a whole presentation about it,” wrote Rickards. She went on to explain that Colbert would air one show per month on PBS, with Colbert and his team donating their time and PBS covering the production costs.
“The numbers actually make sense,” she wrote. “A stripped down production costs PBS maybe $150-200K per episode. Even if only half of Colbert’s audience showed up to a pledge drive that same night, PBS raises $1.5-2.5M. In one evening. Twelve times a year. And the time slot writes itself, 8 PM Sunday on PBS, right before Masterpiece. Colbert brings his audience in, they stay for the whole evening. PBS wins Sunday night.”
Concluding the proposal, Rickards added, “PBS is under real threat right now. Federal funding cuts, attacks on public media. And there’s a brilliant, newly-free host sitting at home who has spent a decade defending everything PBS stands for. Someone had to say it. @stephentcolbert — 12 days a year. We will buy so many tote bags.”
While the post generated enthusiasm among some of Colbert’s fans, others questioned how practical the proposal would be and noted the potential challenges involved in making it a reality.
