[Image: The Late Show / Facebook]
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been cancelled and will end in May, with network CBS announcing it will retire the Late Show entirely after a 33-year run.
Colbert, who has hosted the talk show since 2015, announced the news during Thursday night’s taping, telling the audience he had only been told the news the previous night.
Many are finding the move suspicious in light of his relentless skewering of President Trump, who happens to have settled a $16 million lawsuit against CBS’ parent company, Paramount, a decision Colbert called “a big fat bribe” on The Late Show earlier this week.
“THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” the platform confirmed.
Paramount Global attempted to close a merger with Skydance, but the deal fell apart last year. Colbert was very vocal about the deal, which saw Paramount’s owners pushing the Trump administration to approve the sale of CBS to Skydance.
George Cheeks, co-CEO of Paramount Global and president and CEO of CBS; Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment; and David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, issued a joint statement saying the Late Show would “end its historic 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,” they said.
The statement added that 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,” the network added.
The announcement led to US Senator Elizabeth Warren commenting that the cancellation may have had less to do with programming changes and more to do with politics, especially as the cancellation comes only days after The Late Show was nominated for an Emmy Award.
CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.
America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.
Watch and share his message. pic.twitter.com/Rz7HcWFLYM
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 18, 2025
Colbert said he was “grateful” to the viewers and the show’s 200-strong crew.
“Let me tell you, it is a fantastic job, I wish someone else was getting it. And it is a job I am looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”
Colbert took over on The Late Show from veteran host David Letterman, who hosted the show for 22 years, from 1993 to 2015. The show has had consistently high ratings in its slot and is often the highest-rated show in late-night.
[Source: Guardian]