CBS announced Thursday that it will end Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” after the upcoming TV season, citing a “financial decision.”
The cancellation marks the end of a long tradition of original late-night programming on CBS, a legacy that began in 1993 when the network lured David Letterman away from NBC, according to Variety. CBS executives explained that the decision is rooted in the growing economic pressures facing the industry.
BREAKING: CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert to be CANCELLED pic.twitter.com/Nbiic1beBy
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 17, 2025
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise’ in May of 2026,” CBS executives said in a statement, Variety reported. “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. 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 announcement comes amid speculation that Colbert, along with Jon Stewart, who hosts a weekly broadcast of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, may face increasing scrutiny from executives at Skydance Media. Skydance is set to acquire Paramount Global, the parent company of both CBS and Comedy Central, and David Ellison, the leader of Skydance, has projected an image of being interested in the political inclinations of figures like President Donald Trump, which both Colbert and Stewart frequently target with their critiques.
Throughout Trump’s second term, Colbert repeatedly targeted various aspects of his policies and actions. In July 2025, Colbert condemned Trump’s dismissal of the Epstein files controversy as “boring.”
Additionally, Colbert publicly criticized CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, for settling a lawsuit with Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview, calling the $16 million settlement a “big fat bribe” and suggesting it was aimed at securing government approval for Paramount’s sale to Skydance Media.
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