CBS cancels ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’
(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - CBS announced they are cancelling "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" earlier this week.
The announcement comes days after Colbert criticized the settlement between President Donald Trump and CBS' parent company, Paramount, which he called a "bribe."
However, Paramount says there is no connection between what Colbert said and the cancellation.
During a taping earlier this week, Colbert's audience was stunned by his announcement.
"Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late Show in May," Colbert shared, and his audience reacted with boos. "Yeah, I share your feelings. It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of the Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."
CBS' parent company, Paramount, said the decision to cancel the top-rated late night comedy show was strictly dollars and cents saying, "This 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."
While Johnny Carson delivered 15 million viewers or more by himself as the "King of Late Night" half a century ago, all three network late shows have a total of less than six million viewers combined.
However, it is the "other matters happening at Paramount" which has Colbert fans fuming. Colbert has been a strong and frequent critic of President Trump, and at the start of the week, he also targeted Paramount for its $16 million settlement of a lawsuit Trump filed against CBS News.
"I believe that complicated financial settlement with a government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's "big, fat bribe" because it all comes as Paramount owners are trying to get the Trump Administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance," Colbert said in his monologue.
Several political figures responded to the news of the show's cancellation, with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) writing, "CBS's billionaire owners pay Trump $16 million to settle a bogus lawsuit while trying to sell the network to Skydance. Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late night host, slams the deal. Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO."
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also wrote, "Stephen Colbert is a brilliant host and an even better person. I always loved being on The Late Show, and our most difficult and memorable interview was broadcast live from the Capitol the night of Jan. 6."
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) posted to X saying in part, "If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better."
Meanwhile, Trump posted to social media saying in part, "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!"
One of Colbert's colleagues, Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," posted an Instagram story saying, "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."
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will air its final broadcast in May of 2026. To read other people's reaction to the show's cancellation, click here.
