CBS is shutting down The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which has been on the air for ten years

CBS has announced that it will cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026. About it writes CBS News.

Along with the show, the entire franchise of The Late Show, which has existed for more than 30 years, will end.

The company explained the decision for purely financial reasons, emphasizing that it was "unrelated to ratings, content, or other events at Paramount."

"He [Colbert] and his program will be remembered in the pantheon of great people who have graced evening television," the channel noted.

Colbert, who has been hosting the show since 2015, announced the closure of the project live during the new episode, adding that he himself had learned of the closure the night before.

He thanked the audience, the show's musicians, and the entire 200-person team he has been working with for ten years: "I am not being replaced. This is all just disappearing. And I want to say that the people at CBS have been great partners.".

The show has become the most popular among American evening programs and has been the leader in viewership for 9 consecutive seasons.

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who was a guest on the show that night, wrote on social media: "If CBS and Paramount have canceled the show for political reasons, the public has a right to know. And they deserve better.".

Colbert openly criticized Donald Trumpand more recently Paramount, which agreed to pay Trump $16 million as part of a lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview. The company called the lawsuit groundless.

• In May 2025, due to Trump's lawsuit cBS CEO Wendy McMahon resigns. She said that her decision was due to disagreements with the company's management over the settlement of the lawsuit.
• Before that, in April, Bill Owens, executive producer of the 60 Minutes program, resigned, saying that he "no longer has journalistic independence in his work."