During last night's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the longtime late-night host shared the shocking news that not only is his tenure ending in May 2026 when his contract expires, but the whole show has been cancelled by CBS. That means there's no replacement host coming. And after next year, the series will not be around any longer.
As you can see in the video we shared below, it's clear that this was not Colbert's decision, and unfortunately it all came down to financial reasons, as he not so subtly points out. It's truly disappointing, especially with a part of television that's become so iconic after all these years. The Late Show has been on for the past three decades, first starting in 1993 with David Letterman.
According to a CBS press release, this decision has nothing to do with the show's performance, content, or the current talks of Paramount and Skydance merging. Though do we really believe that, I don't know. It's pretty sus and these big companies are good at wording things a certain way.
It's truly disappointing, and we're not the only ones feeling it! Many late-night talk show hosts from the other networks have also started speaking out about this shocking decision CBS made. ABC host Jimmy Kimmel shared his feelings on his Instagram story with the caption, “Love you Stephen. F–k you and all your Sheldons CBS," per TVLine. Kimmel is referring to the character of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory franchise, which is currently airing its third series with a spin-off on the way.
There's also NBC's Jimmy Fallon who took to his Instagram story as well with the message, “I’m just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come... I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.”
We don't want to get too political here, but there is also a couple of things to mention. The first is that Skydance owner David Ellison has been seen with U.S. President Donald Trump at events, and the president has been a supporter of the merger between Paramount and Skydance. Plus, CBS recently settled a lawsuit with the president, paying $16 million to do so following a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Do any of these factors have anything to do with the cancellation of Colbert? I mean, late night has taken a bit of a hit viewership wise in general in the past few years. Plus, Colbert is not shy about his feelings towards the president during his segments. And Trump certainly hasn't been shy about his feelings regarding CBS' startling decision.
Whatever the reason is, I can tell you that this is definitely a huge loss. Colbert and The Late Show have been such a pivotal part of television, and it's going to be so strange without them. As Fallon mentioned, whatever he chooses to do next, he'll be awesome in. Though this is still very much a sad moment for late night fans.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
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