CBS is making significant changes to late-night television, announcing that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will conclude its run in May 2026. The network describes this move as a “financial decision.”
In their Thursday announcement, CBS stated it will “retire” the “Late Show” brand. They emphasized that this choice is purely based on financial challenges in the late-night landscape, and isn’t related to the show’s quality or any controversies involving Paramount.
This decision arrives shortly after CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, reached a $16 million settlement due to a lawsuit from Trump concerning a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert had criticized this settlement heavily, referring to it as a “big fat bribe,” which was scrutinized amid Paramount’s multi-billion dollar merger discussions with Skydance that require approval from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission.
Colbert has been hosting “Late Show” since 2015 and is known as a strong critic of Trump. The former president has disparaged him multiple times, calling him a “complete loser” and suggested CBS should consider replacing him with someone more viable.
In a clip from Thursday’s show, Colbert shared he was informed of the show’s ending just a day prior. He remarked that this marks not just the end for his show, but for the “Late Show” concept on CBS entirely, indicating that everything associated with it would soon disappear.
Originally launched in 1993 with David Letterman as host, “The Late Show” has been a staple of CBS’s lineup. Colbert acknowledged CBS as a “great partner” and expressed gratitude to his dedicated staff and audience.
CBS, in their statement, highlighted Colbert as “irreplaceable,” conveying that the admiration and respect for him and his team made the decision exceptionally tough for the network.
