‘Late Show’ Cancellation Leads To Questions About Role Of Politics, Decline Of Late Night
CBS announced Thursday that it is canceling 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.' The comedian's run and the overall 32 year-old 'The Late Show' franchise are set to end in May 2026 — after the next season. Colbert took over hosting duties in 2015 from David Letterman, who started the show in 1993.
In a statement, George Cheeks, president of CBS and co-CEO of its parent company, Paramount, said the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night" and did not have to do with "the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
Sources inside CBS say the show was losing $40 million a year.
The cancellation is also leading to accusations that the company is trying to curry favor with President Trump amid its proposed merger with Skydance. Meanwhile, Trump is celebrating the dismissal of his longtime critic.
It comes after Colbert has used the late-night talk show to criticize CBS's parent company, Paramount, for its $16 million payout to Trump. The company settled a lawsuit about edits made to a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. In an episode Monday, Colbert called Paramount's settlement "a big fat bribe."
On Friday, the Writers Guild of America said it has “significant concerns” about the move and called on the New York Attorney General to investigate whether it was a bribe to the Trump team.
Some Democrats are also calling for investigations into whether the show’s cancellation was tied to Colbert's political outspokenness.
RETRIBUTION OR SIGN OF LATE NIGHT’S DEMISE?
The news comes as late-night TV shows overall have been struggling to find their footing amid changing viewing habits. While 'The Late Show' has been leading competitors in the same time slot like 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and 'The Tonight Show' in viewership, between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024, Colbert's show saw a 32% drop in viewership.
Late-night shows collectively used to get around 20 million viewers on a given night — today, that number has dropped to about 5–6 million.
What’s leading to the drop? Streaming services and YouTube have upended the usual format of live interviews and monologues, and companies have struggled to figure out how to monetize online clips.
His friend, and fellow late-night host, is not having it:
