CBS is canceling 鈥淭he Late Show With Stephen Colbert鈥 next May, shuttering a decades-old TV institution in a changing media landscape and removing from air one of President Donald Trump乌鸦传媒 most prominent and persistent late-night critics.
CBS said 鈥淟ate Show鈥 was canceled for financial reasons, not for content. But the timing 鈥 three days after Colbert criticized the , parent company of CBS, over a 鈥60 Minutes鈥 story 鈥 led two U.S. senators to publicly question the motives.
Colbert told his audience at New York's Ed Sullivan Theater that he had learned Wednesday night that, after a decade on air, 鈥渘ext year will be our last season. ... It's the end of 鈥楾he Late Show鈥 on CBS. I鈥檓 not being replaced. This is all just going away.鈥
The audience responded with boos and groans.
鈥淵eah, I share your feelings,鈥 the 61-year-old comic said.
Three top Paramount and CBS executives praised Colbert's show as 鈥渁 staple of the nation's zeitgeist鈥 in a statement that said the cancellation 鈥渋s purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show乌鸦传媒 performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.鈥
Colbert and Trump
In his Monday monologue, Colbert said he was 鈥渙ffended鈥 by the reached by Paramount, whose pending sale to Skydance Media needs the Trump administration's approval. He said the technical name in legal circles for the deal was 鈥渂ig fat bribe.鈥
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if anything 鈥 anything 鈥 will repair my trust in this company,鈥 Colbert said. 鈥淏ut, just taking a stab at it, I鈥檇 say $16 million would help.鈥
Trump had sued Paramount Global over how 鈥60 Minutes鈥 edited its interview last fall with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Critics say the company settled primarily to clear a hurdle to the Skydance sale.
The president 鈥 a longtime target of Colbert 鈥 on Friday said on Truth Social that 鈥淚 absolutely love鈥 that Colbert was 鈥渇ired.鈥 In his message, he insulted the late-night hosts on ABC, CBS and NBC.
鈥淚 hear (ABC's) Jimmy Kimmel is next,鈥 Trump wrote. 鈥淗as even less talent than Colbert. (Fox News Channel's) Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight show.鈥
Colbert took over 鈥淭he Late Show鈥 in 2015 after becoming a big name in comedy and news satire working on Comedy Central with Jon Stewart on 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥 and hosting 鈥淭he Colbert Report,鈥 which riffed on right-wing talk shows. The guests on his very first show in September 2015 were actor George Clooney and Jeb Bush, who was then struggling in his Republican presidential primary campaign against Trump.
鈥淕ov. Bush was the governor of Florida for eight years,鈥 Colbert told his audience. 鈥淎nd you would think that that much exposure to oranges and crazy people would have prepared him for Donald Trump. Evidently not.鈥
The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert gaining viewers so far this year and winning his timeslot among broadcasters, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes. On Tuesday, Colbert乌鸦传媒 鈥淟ate Show鈥 landed its sixth Emmy nomination for outstanding talk show. It won a Peabody Award in 2021.
David Letterman began hosting 鈥淭he Late Show鈥 in 1993. When Colbert took over, he deepened its engagement with politics. Alongside musicians and movie stars, Colbert often welcomes politicians to his couch.
The late-night world reacts
Democratic of California was a guest on Thursday night. Schiff said on X that 鈥渋f Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.鈥 Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released a similar statement.
Colbert乌鸦传媒 counterpart on ABC, Kimmel, posted 鈥淟ove you Stephen鈥 on Instagram and directed an expletive at CBS.
鈥淚'm just as shocked as everyone,鈥 NBC 鈥淭onight鈥 show host Jimmy Fallon said Friday on Instagram. 鈥淪tephen 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.鈥
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to silence people, but that won鈥檛 work. Won鈥檛 work. We will just get louder,鈥 actor Jamie Lee Curtis, who has previously criticized Trump and is set to visit Colbert's show in coming days, told the AP.
Late-night TV has been facing economic pressures for years; ratings and ad revenue are down and many young viewers prefer highlights online, which networks have trouble monetizing. CBS also recently canceled host Taylor Tomlinson's 鈥淎fter Midnight,鈥 which aired after 鈥淭he Late Show.鈥
Still, Colbert had led the network late-night competition for years. And while NBC has acknowledged economic pressures by eliminating the band on Seth Meyers鈥 show and cutting one night of Jimmy Fallon乌鸦传媒 鈥淭he Tonight Show,鈥 there had been no such visible efforts at 鈥淭he Late Show.鈥
Colbert乌鸦传媒 relentless criticism of Trump, his denunciation of the settlement, and the parent company's pending sale can鈥檛 be ignored, said Bill Carter, author of 鈥淭he Late Shift.鈥
鈥淚f CBS thinks people are just going to swallow this, they鈥檙e really deluded,鈥 Carter said.
Andy Cohen, who began his career at CBS and now hosts 鈥淲atch What Happens Live,鈥 said in an interview: 鈥淚t is a very sad day for CBS that they are getting out of the late-night race. I mean, they are turning off the lights after the news.鈥
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AP journalist Liam McEwan contributed reporting.