The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is coming to an end on CBS.
In a release sent by the network, it was announced that the show will end its run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late-night television.”
“Our admiration, affection, and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult. Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news and newsmakers across all areas. The show has been #1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen’s comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist,” read the statement.
The news was also broken by host Colbert, first to his studio audience, then via Instagram post shared on July 17.
According to the statement, the decision was purely financial decision and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
“Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year, will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May,” Colbert told to an astonished studio audience, who immediately began booing at the news. “Yeah. I shared your feelings.”
“It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” continued Colbert. “And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners.”
During the heartfelt announcement, Colbert gave his thanks to the audience, his band, and his crew who worked by his side since 2015, when he took over hosting duties from David Letterman.
“I am deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show for each other, every day, all day. And I get the pleasure and responsiblity of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. And let me tell you, it’s a fantastic job.”
Prior to hosting The Late Show, Colbert was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the host of The Colbert Report, a spin-off of The Daily Show.
Though the statement released by CBS cited financial reasons for ending the program, people are speculating that other reasons might be the cause. The Late Show‘s latest guest, Senator Adam Schiff, took to X (formerly Twitter) for another take on the situation.
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” wrote the Senator.
“On the one hand: There *is* an economic rationale for this. Late night shows aren’t cheap (w/ giant talent salaries) and they don’t deliver traditional strong ratings anymore. Other hand: I don’t believe them. It’s not the money in this case,” wrote @MichaelSocolow.
“CBS is cancelling the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This comes after the network caved to Donald Trump and settled a lawsuit,” wrote an account titled Protect Kamala Harris.
News of the late-night show’s cancellation follows Paramount’s agreement to a $16 million settlement with President Trump, who accused CBS’s 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. No apology was issued, but as part of the deal, 60 Minutes must now release full transcripts of future candidate interviews.
Colbert ended his announcement with, “I wish someone else was getting it. And it’s a job I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
