CBS has announced it will cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May 2026, ending a decade-long run of one of late night television’s most influential programs and removing a prominent critic of former President Donald Trump from the airwaves.
The announcement came Thursday, shortly after Colbert publicly criticized a $16 million settlement between CBS’s parent company Paramount Global and Trump over a disputed “60 Minutes” interview.
Speaking at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert informed his audience, “Next year will be our last season. It’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.” The audience responded with boos and groans. “Yeah, I share your feelings,” the 61-year-old host said.
A joint statement from top Paramount and CBS executives described the cancellation as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” emphasizing that it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Colbert expressed outrage over the settlement reached to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount, calling it a “big fat bribe.” He said, “I don’t know if anything will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”
Since taking over the show in 2015, Colbert had been a key figure in political satire, often featuring politicians alongside celebrities. His program recently received its sixth Primetime Emmy nomination and won a Peabody Award in 2021. Nielsen ratings show Colbert leading his timeslot with about 2.4 million viewers.
The cancellation sparked political reaction. Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren demanded transparency if politics influenced the decision. Colbert’s fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel posted support online, while actor Jamie Lee Curtis criticized attempts to silence voices amid political tensions.
Late-night television has faced economic challenges, including declining ratings and ad revenue. CBS also recently canceled “After Midnight,” hosted by Taylor Tomlinson.
Bill Carter, author of the late shift, said, “If CBS thinks people are just going to swallow this, they’re really deluded.” Andy Cohen lamented, “It is a very sad day for CBS that they are getting out of the late-night race.”