CNN —
In a shocking move, CBS is ending “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” next year, and apparently exiting the late-night television business altogether.
The network, citing financial pressures, said the cancellation will take effect in May 2026, the normal end of the broadcast TV season.
The decision is particularly surprising because “The Late Show” is typically the highest-rated show in late-night. And the timing is bound to raise questions because it comes just two weeks after the parent company of CBS, Paramount, settled a lawsuit lodged by President Trump against CBS News.
The settlement – and Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance Media – spurred speculation about Colbert’s future at CBS. Colbert, after all, is one of the staunchest critics of Trump on television.
Colbert alluded to the online worrying about his fate when he returned from vacation on Monday night. He condemned the Paramount settlement on air, likening it to a “big fat bribe,” and he joked that his new mustache would protect him from the corporation: “Okay, okay, but how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert… if they can’t find him?”
CBS, however, said in a statement that “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.”
The corporate financial pressures are real; Paramount laid off another 3.5 percent of its workforce just last month.
Due to plunging ad revenue, “The Late Show” is no longer profitable, according to a source close to the network.
Still, the Colbert news was head-spinning in the TV world, as evidenced by the heartbroken reactions from fans on the show’s Instagram page. One of the most-favorited comments said “this is crazy.”
Colbert shared the news at his show taping on Thursday evening. He gave no indication that it was his decision; to the contrary, he said he found out about the network’s decision “last night.”
“Next year will be our last season,” Colbert said as audible ‘boos’ were heard in the studio audience. “The network will be ending our show in May,” he said. “It’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS,” he added, going on to say, “This is all just going away.”
Some observers immediately raised concerns about Paramount’s motivation, including Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who happened to be Colbert’s guest on Thursday.
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled,” Schiff wrote on X. “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”
“I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners,” Colbert said. “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 in here, out there, all around the world.”
“The Late Show” franchise has been a foundation of the CBS lineup for more than thirty years.
Colbert, who took the reins from founding host David Letterman in 2015, said in his on-air announcement that “I wish somebody else was getting it.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Letterman and Jon Stewart, who hosts a weekly edition of “The Daily Show” for another Paramount-owned property, Comedy Central.
The network ended James Corden’s “Late Late Show” in 2023. At the time, executives said that 12:35 a.m. show had become unprofitable for CBS. Colbert helped produce a replacement show, “After Midnight,” that ended earlier this year.
But in that case, CBS said the show wrapped because the host, Taylor Tomlinson, did not want to helm another season.
This story has been updated with additional developments and context.
