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鈥檚 most prominent and persistent late-night critics.
Thursday's announcement followed Colbert's of a , parent company of CBS, over a 鈥60 Minutes鈥 story.
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," 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鈥檚 performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.鈥
In his Monday monologue, Colbert said he was "offended" by the $16 million settlement 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," Colbert said. "But, 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.
Colbert took over 鈥淭he Late Show鈥 in 2015 after becoming a big name in comedy and news satire working with Jon Stewart on 鈥淭he Daily Show" and hosting 鈥淭he Colbert Report," which riffed on right-wing talk shows.
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鈥檚 鈥淟ate Show鈥 landed its sixth nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding talk show. It won a Peabody Award in 2021.
David Letterman began hosting 鈥淭he Late Show" in 1993. When Colbert took over, he deepened its engagement with politics. Alongside musicians and movie stars, Colbert often welcomes politicians to his couch.
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
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, released a similar statement, saying "America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.鈥
Colbert鈥檚 late-night host counterpart on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, shared Colbert鈥檚 announcement on Instagram along with the message: 鈥淟ove you Stephen." He then directed an expletive at CBS.
Colbert has targeted Trump for years. 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
Late-night TV has been facing economic pressures for years; viewership is 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
While NBC has acknowledged economic pressures by eliminating the band on Seth Meyers鈥 show and cutting one night of Jimmy Fallon鈥檚 鈥淭he Tonight Show," there had been no such visible efforts at 鈥淭he Late Show."
Colbert鈥檚 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."
鈥淚f CBS thinks people are just going to swallow this, they鈥檙e really deluded,鈥 Carter said.
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AP Media Writer David Bauder contributed from New York.
