Stephen Colbert announced the cancellation of The Late Show with a mix of sadness and gratitude during a recent episode, confirming that the long-running program will end in May 2026. CBS cited financial challenges as the reason, but the timing has led many to ask whether corporate politics played a role.
Stephen Colbert talks about Late Show cancellation
Speaking to a live studio audience, Stephen Colbert revealed that he had only just learned of the Late Show cancellation the night before. “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May,” he said. The crowd responded with boos, to which Colbert replied, “Yeah, I share your feelings.” He clarified that he wasn’t being replaced. “This is all just going away.”
Even as the news stung, Colbert remained composed and appreciative. He took time to thank CBS, his band, his crew, and fans watching around the world. “I’m so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home.”
Colbert further thanked the audience, “I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here out there all around the world.” He also praised his team of 200 staffers, “We get to do this show for each other every day all day.”
The iconic host continued, “I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you… for the last 10 years.” Colbert added, “It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.” Still, he looked forward with some optimism, “It’s going to be fun… I’m looking forward to doing [the show] with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”
The official reason for The Late Show’s cancellation, according to CBS executives, is financial strain in the late-night scene. Despite it leading the ratings for nine straight seasons, the network cited rising production costs and shrinking ad revenue as factors. However, the timing has many thinking that the recent lawsuit with Donald Trump might have had something to do with this.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
