A late-night TV institution is coming to an end.
Today, CBS announced The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its run after the 2025-2026 broadcast season.
George Cheeks, co-CEO Paramount Global, president and CEO at CBS; Amy Reisenbach, president, CBS Entertainment; and David Stapf, president, CBS Studios, announced the news in a joint statement, saying it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and had nothing to do with the show’s performance.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” the statement said. “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.”
Colbert also announced the program’s end in a taped segment for Thursday’s Late Show, saying he had first heard the news on Wednesday.
“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,” Colbert said.
The Late Show host went on to thank CBS for being great partners and note that the show would continue for another 10 months.
“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. And let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it,” Colbert said.