While taping his Thursday night show, Stephen Colbert announced that CBS is ending “The Late Show” next May.
The network said the decision to end Colbert’s show, the most-watched in late-night television, was “purely a financial” call. Executives from CBS and Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, expressed admiration for Colbert, a staple of late-night who was an unabashed critic of President Donald Trump and Paramount’s relationship with him.
CBS is not replacing Colbert, who started on “The Late Show” in 2015; the show will end completely after a nearly 33-year run.
The news came days after Colbert sharply criticized Paramount for paying $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump in 2024, saying it was a “big fat bribe.” Paramount is currently seeking federal approval for an $8 billion merger with Skydance.
Colbert’s Thursday audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Midtown booed when he announced the news.
“Yeah, I share your feelings,” Colbert replied, expressing his gratitude for his team, the audience and CBS.
“We get to do this show for each other every day, all day,” Colbert added about his team. “And I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera every day for the last 10 years.”
Top executives from Paramount and CBS said in a joint statement that the decision was made as late-night shows struggle to maintain audiences.
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time,” the executives said. “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.”
“It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” they added of their decision.
“The Late Show” was the top show in late-night television for nine straight seasons, with about 2.147 million viewers across 41 episodes this season, according to the latest Nielsen ratings. Colbert’s show was the only late-night show to gain viewers so far in 2025.
Late-night shows have faced economic pressures for years as the television landscape shifts, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Ad revenue for late-night shows dropped 50% since 2018, according to advertising firm Guideline.
But while other late-night shows have seen cost-cutting measures, Colbert’s show did not face any noticeable changes. Many prominent politicians and critics connected the decision more to Colbert’s frequent criticism of Trump and Paramount’s increasing relationship with the president.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was a guest on the Thursday show, said on social media that Paramount and CBS should be honest if the decision was political.
“If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know,” Schiff wrote. “And deserves better.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is investigating Paramount’s merger deal for evidence of bribery, said the network’s move appears to have been made to appease Trump.
“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,” Warren wrote on social media. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
Trump celebrated the decision in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” Trump wrote. “His talent was even less than his ratings.”
Colbert said he looked forward to finishing the show over the next 10 months.
“Let me tell you, it’s a fantastic job,” Colbert said. “I wish somebody else was getting it.”
