CBS will pull the plug on late-night comedian Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” next year in a “purely financial decision,” the network announced on Thursday.
Colbert’s late-night comedy news show will air its final episode in May 2026, according to a statement released by CBS. The announcement marked the end of a nearly 11-year run Colbert has had hosting “The Late Show,” which first began in 1993 under former host David Letterman.
The network said that it is scrapping “The Late Show” franchise and will not move on to another host after Colbert.
“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,” CBS said in a statement.
“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,” it continued.
Colbert announced the news from his host chair at the top of his Thursday episode.
“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” Colbert said.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who was a guest on Colbert’s program on Thursday night, suggested on social media that the cancelation of “The Late Show” may be about more than purely “financial reasons.”
“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,” Schiff said in a post on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
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.
&mdash; Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenAdamSchiff/status/1945991349339042169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
The end of “The Late Show” comes as late-night comedy programming has seen a severe decline in recent years. Colbert’s show has seen a significant <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/10/25/late-night-tv-shows-fading-colbert-leading-late-audience-drop-32/">decline</a>.
CBS saluted Colbert in its statement announcing an end to “The Late Show” after more than three decades.
“The show has been #1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen&#8217;s comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist,” said CBS. “The accomplishments of ‘THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT’ are memorable and significant in performance, quality and stature. With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers.”

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CBS Cans Ultra-Leftist Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’: ‘All Just Going Away’

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CBS Cans Ultra-Leftist Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’: ‘All Just Going Away’