The Late Show with Stephen Colbert cancelled by CBS in shock move
CBS is cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Paramount Global-owned broadcaster CBS is cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in a surprise move announced on Thursday.
Colbert, who has fronted the show since 2015, during which time he has hosted more than 1,650 episodes across 10 seasons, announced the cancellation at the beginning of a live taping on Thursday.
The franchise, which was also led by David Letterman from 1993 to 2015, is being retired and Colbert will not be replaced when the current season wraps in May 2026.
“Before we start the show, I’m letting 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,” said Colbert.
The announcement was greeted with boos from the audience, to which Colbert said: “Yes, I share 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.”
He later thanked CBS for “giving me this chair and this beautiful theatre to call home,” as well as the 200 people who work on the show.
CBS claimed the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
The CBS statement came jointly from 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).
The execs added: “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.”
The shock cancellation comes as Paramount Global’s takeover by Skydance awaits approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Donald Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr.
It was widely believed the deal was being held up by Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News for allegedly deceptively editing an interview with former presidential nominee Kamala Harris. However, with Paramount Global agreeing to pay US$16m to settle the lawsuit earlier this month, it appears the path is clear for the deal to proceed.
Colbert, who has long been an outspoken critic of Trump, characterised the settlement as a “big fat bribe” earlier this week, and also joked that Skydance may try to make him tone down his comments about Trump once it takes over Paramount.
After news broke of The Late Show’s cancellation, Democratic senator Adam Schiff questioned whether the programme was axed for “political reasons.”
“If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” Schiff wrote on X.
Outside of the political backdrop, late-night television has been facing growing pressures as the decline of linear has taken a toll, coupled with the rise of social media enabling stars to go directly to their audience.
Colbert concluded by thanking the audience for following the show for the past decade.
“I’ve had the pleasure and responsibility 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 is a fantastic thing. I wish somebody else was getting [the hosting role], and it’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months,” he said.
