CBS Cancels 'Late Show,' Ending Stephen Colbert's Run After Decades On Air

US broadcaster CBS has announced that it’s canceling “The Late Show” — its late-night franchise that began under David Letterman in 1993 — and looks to end the program currently hosted by Stephen Colbert in May 2026.In a statement, CBS claimed that the move is “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and said it’s not related “in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”“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,” the network said of Colbert, who began hosting the program after Letterman’s retirement in 2015.The news notably comes just days after Colbert, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump on his program, ripped parent company Paramount Global for settling a lawsuit with the president over a “60 Minutes” episode with former Vice President Kamala Harris.Critics have sounded the alarm on the settlement — which reportedly included a “side deal” to run at least $15 million of public service ads on CBS to promote Trump-backed causes — and warned that it could have grave implications for press freedom in America.Colbert — in his first episode back from a vacation — called the settlement a “big fat bribe.” It’s a likely nod to the pending merger of Paramount with Skydance Media, a multibillion-dollar deal that needs approval from the Trump-favouring chairof the Federal Communications Commission.“As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended. I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company,” said Colbert during Monday’s monologue.“But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”He then tossed to a mock Paramount statement which saw the company claim that its “dignity” could be purchased “for the low, low price of $16 million.”CNN’s Brian Stelter told Anderson Cooper on Thursday that Colbert’s fans see the announcement as “another form of capitulation” by CBS before citing a source close to the network who claimed that “plunging ad revenue” made the show unprofitable.“However, it’s not as if Colbert was given a chance to take a pay cut or maybe change the format of the show or move out of [its home at] the Ed Sullivan Theatre [in New York], this seems to have happened all at once,” he stressed.The network’s move to cancel the show arrives over two years after it ended “The Late Late Show,” a program hosted by James Corden that aired directly after “The Late Show.”Sources told Stelter at the time that the program “was simply not sustainable” as it cost more than it made.Last year, the Colbert-produced “After Midnight” hosted by Taylor Tomlinson took that program’s place on the CBS late-night schedule.But, after the show was renewed for another season, it ended last month after Tomlinson decided not to return.At the start of Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert delivered the news to his audience and was met with a resounding wave of boos.“Yeah, I share you’re feelings,” Colbert said.He continued by noting that he isn’t being “replaced” and, in fact, the show was “just going away” before thanking CBS, the audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater, his band and his staff.“I’ve had the pleasure and responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years and let me tell you, it is a fantastic job,” he said. “I wish somebody else was getting it and it’s a job I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”

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