CBS has announced it will end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026, marking the conclusion of one of America’s most iconic late-night programmes after more than three decades on air.
The network described the decision as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night [television]” and insisted it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters.”
Stephen Colbert broke the news to his studio audience during a Thursday taping, drawing boos from the crowd at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York.
“I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners,” Colbert said. “And of course, I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here, out there, all around the world.”
He explained he had only been informed of the decision the previous night, telling the audience during his monologue: “Yeah, I share your feeling,” as chants of “no” echoed in the theatre.
“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 said. “It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.”
The cancellation will leave CBS without a late-night talk show for the first time since 1993. The show was originally launched that year by CBS, following a well-publicised dispute between David Letterman and Jay Leno over who should succeed Johnny Carson on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Letterman lost out to Leno, prompting him to jump to CBS and launch The Late Show.
Colbert succeeded Letterman in 2015 after making a name for himself on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, a satirical programme that skewered American conservative politics. Over the years, he became one of Donald Trump’s most vocal critics in the late-night television space.
The news comes just two weeks after CBS parent company Paramount settled a $16m lawsuit brought by former President Trump. The case involved CBS’s 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign. Paramount said the money would be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library, not paid to him “directly or indirectly.”
Though CBS has denied any link, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who taped an interview with Colbert just before the announcement, questioned whether the decision was politically motivated. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), he said: “If Paramount and CBS ended The Late Show for political reasons, the public deserved to know.”
Colbert recently hosted Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is vying to become New York City’s next mayor, continuing his trend of featuring prominent Democratic figures.
CBS stated: “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise. 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.”
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