CBS is canceling the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the Late Show franchise itself. The company and Colbert made the announcement on Thursday.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. The hour-long show with Colbert has been on since 2015.
What CBS said?
"THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season," the company said in a statement, adding, "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."
Why is CBS canceling the Late Show with Stephen Colbert?
CBS said that the decision to cancel the show was purely a financial one.
"This is 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".
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{{/usCountry}}"This is 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".
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{{/usCountry}}However, Senator Adam Schiff, who was interviewed on the show, raised suspicions, saying on X, “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”
Notably, the decision to scrap the show, whose host has often been critical of the Trump government, comes after the network settled a lawsuit with the President of the United States.
What Stephen Colbert said?
Colbert made the announcement during Thursday's taping, telling the audience,"Before we start the show, I want to let you know something I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending 'The Late Show' in May."
Met with ‘nos’ and ‘boos’, Colbert assured the audience he felt the same way.
“It's not just the end of our show, it's the end of 'The Late Show' on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I'm so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night,” Colbert added.