One of the most popular political late-night shows on television, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, is being canceled by CBS.
The show will end in May 2026 after more than 1,500 episodes in its second iteration.
‘THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT’ will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS said in a statement. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘THE LATE SHOW’ franchise at that time. 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.”
“This is 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,” the network added.
Colbert told the audience the news at Thursday’s taping of the show at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan.
“Before we start the show, I want to let you know something I found out just last night,” he said. “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May.”
After the audience expressed disagreement with the decision, Colbert said, “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,” he continued. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say … that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I’m so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night.”
The Late Show was hosted by David Letterman for decades until Colbert took the reins in 2015.
Colbert said he was “extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here.”
“I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years,” he said, adding, “It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. It’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”
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The show, which had been in its second iteration since its start in 1993, has featured numerous celebrities, political stars, and other notable figures. Bill Murray was the show’s first guest and Billy Joel its first musical act.
“With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers,” CBS said.