CBS just dropped a surprise announcement. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is coming to an end next year.
And it’s not just the show. The network seems to be stepping away from late-night TV completely. The final episode will air in May 2026, at the end of the regular TV season.
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Fans are confused, since Colbert’s show still leads the late-night ratings.
CBS says money is the only reason
CBS insists this was all about finances.
They said it’s not related to the show’s content, performance, or any behind-the-scenes drama. Just money.
Paramount, the network’s parent company, recently laid off 3.5 percent of its staff. A source said Colbert’s show isn’t profitable anymore due to falling ad revenue.
TV expert Bill Carter said the whole late-night scene has been feeling that pressure for a while.
Viewers are stunned by the news
Fans didn’t take it well.
Comments flooded the show’s Instagram after the news broke, with one calling it “crazy” — and that pretty much summed up how a lot of people felt.
Colbert broke the news himself
Colbert told the audience during Thursday’s taping that he had just found out the night before.
“Next year will be our last season,” he said, as the crowd booed. “The network will be ending our show in May. It’s the end of The Late Show on CBS… this is all just going away.”
He joked about it but also got real
Earlier in the week, Colbert had joked about online chatter around his future.
He called the Paramount settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe” and joked that his new mustache might keep him safe from corporate pressure.
But he also took a moment to thank everyone. “I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners,” he 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 timing is raising questions
What’s weird is how this came just two weeks after Paramount settled a lawsuit Trump filed against CBS News.
The company’s also in the middle of a big merger with Skydance Media, which has made people wonder if this is really just about money.
Senator Adam Schiff, who happened to be Colbert’s guest that day, posted, “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.”
Colbert has never held back on Trump. Even while the lawsuit was still going on, he kept calling him out on-air.
Bill Carter said CBS would be naive to think people won’t question whether politics played a role.
The show had a long, legendary run
The Late Show has been part of CBS for over 30 years.
David Letterman started it in the ‘90s and made it a hit with his weird humor and iconic Top Ten lists. In 2015, he handed it over to Colbert, who brought new life to the time slot.
Colbert changed the late-night game
Colbert was already a familiar face thanks to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
When Trump was elected in 2016, Colbert leaned hard into political comedy. That approach helped him stand out and gave CBS its biggest late-night ratings in 20 years.
What this means for Colbert’s circle
Now that the show’s ending, people are wondering what it means for others close to Colbert, like Jon Stewart.
Stewart hosts a weekly version of The Daily Show, and CNN reached out to both him and Letterman for comment.
Colbert also made it clear that no one else would be taking over. “I wish somebody else was getting it,” he said.
CBS is stepping away from late-night
This isn’t the first time CBS has made a cut in late-night. They ended James Corden’s Late Late Show in 2023, saying it wasn’t profitable anymore.
Colbert helped create a cheaper follow-up, After Midnight. That show ended earlier this year, but CBS said it was only because the host, Taylor Tomlinson, didn’t want to return.
It looks like CBS is slowly phasing out late-night altogether.