Stephen Colbert says CBS is ending his 'Late Show' in May 2026

CBS late Thursday announced that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will end in May, possibly ending a late-night franchise that began 32 years ago when David Letterman joined the network.

In a statement phrased to suggest the move was unrelated to Colbert's long-running feuds with President Donald Trump, the network said: “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable,” then added: "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.”

That was an apparent reference to the pending $8 billion takeover of Paramount by Skydance Media. Shari Redstone, the nonexecutive chairwoman of Paramount, has been pushing to complete the merger.

Paramount Global, CBS's parent company, recently agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump about the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

On Monday's show, Colbert called the settlement "a big fat bribe," adding: “I am offended. I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

Colbert, who began the show Sept. 8, 2015, has been one of Trump's most persistent critics. He broke the news to his audience during the taping of Thursday’s show.

“It's the end of the Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced,” he said. “This is all just going away.”

After struggling initially, "The Late Show" has become late night's most viewed broadcast program, with about 2.4 million viewers on average.