Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ to end in 2026 amid financial issues

CBS announced Thursday that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026, citing financial challenges in the late-night television landscape.

The decision comes just days after Colbert criticized CBS parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement with former President Donald Trump, calling it "a big fat bribe." The network denied any link between the cancellation and the controversy.

“Next year will be our last season,” Colbert told viewers during Thursday’s broadcast, drawing boos and shouts from the audience. “The network will be ending the show in May.”

In a statement, CBS said the move was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” and “not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Colbert said the decision marks not just the end of his show but of the broader Late Show franchise, which has aired on CBS since 1993. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” he said.

Paramount reached a $16 million settlement with Trump earlier this month in a lawsuit the former president filed over a 2023 60 Minutes segment featuring then-presidential rival Kamala Harris. Trump had accused the network of editing the interview in her favor. Paramount is currently pursuing an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which is pending government approval.

Trump celebrated the show's cancellation on Truth Social, writing, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”

Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the timing of the cancellation. “CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump -- a deal that looks like bribery,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren on X. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

Senator Adam Schiff, who appeared on The Late Show the night Colbert announced its end, added: “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”

Celebrities and peers also reacted. ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel wrote, “Love you Stephen.” Comedy writer Skyler Higley quipped on X, “The Colbert thing is actually quite worrying do you know what it means when they start coming for the white Catholics?”

CBS, in its statement, said it was “proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”

Colbert, who succeeded David Letterman in 2015, brought political satire to the program after rising to fame on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. He also executive produced After Midnight, which followed his program on CBS before its cancellation in June.

The late-night genre, historically shaped by icons such as Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Letterman, continues to evolve as networks reassess programming in a changing media landscape.