CBS is axing 鈥淭he Late Show With Stephen Colbert鈥 in May 2026, the host told an audience at a taping Thursday.
The announcement came three days after Colbert against Paramount Global, parent company of CBS, over a 鈥60 Minutes鈥 story.
Colbert told the audience that he had learned the night before that 鈥淣ext year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late Show in May.鈥
The audience responded with boos and groans and Colbert said, 鈥淵eah, I share your feelings.鈥
In his monologue on Monday night, he said he was "offended" by the $16 million settlement reached by Paramount, whose pending sale to Skydance Media needs the Trump administration's approval.
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
He said the technical name in legal circles for the deal was 鈥渂ig fat bribe.鈥
Paramount and CBS executives said in a statement 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
The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert as winning his timeslot, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes. It also said his late night show was the only one to gain viewers so far this year.
And this week, 鈥淭he Late Show鈥 was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding talk show for the sixth time. It also won a Peabody Award in 2021.
Critics of the settlement that ended Trump鈥檚 lawsuit over the 鈥60 Minutes鈥 editing of its interview last fall with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggested it was primarily to clear a hurdle to the Skydance sale.
Colbert followed 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥 host Jon Stewart鈥檚 attack of the Trump settlement a week earlier. Stewart works for Comedy Central, also owned by Paramount.
Colbert took over 鈥淭he Late Show鈥 in 2015, after becoming a big name in comedy and news satire working with Stewart on 鈥淭he Daily Show" and hosting his own Comedy Central show, 鈥淭he Colbert Report.鈥
He succeeded David Letterman, who began the show in 1993. Colbert's 10th anniversary as host is in September.
The show has gone in a more political direction since he took it over. Alongside musicians and movie stars, Colbert often welcomes politicians to his couch.
As Colbert announced his show was ending, he had just said that Democratic of California was one of the night鈥檚 guests.
鈥淚f Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better," Schiff said on the social platform X.
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. F(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) you and all your Sheldons CBS.鈥
Kimmel used the actual expletive.
Colbert has targeted Trump for years. From 2005 to 2014, 鈥淭he Colbert Report鈥 aired a satirical riff on right-wing news talk shows.
In his first 鈥淟ate Show鈥 monologue in September 2015, he said he was beginning 鈥渢he search for the real Stephen Colbert.鈥
His first guests were actor George Clooney and Jeb Bush, who was then struggling in his Republican 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 year; 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
But Colbert has been leading in the late-night entertainment ratings for several years. 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 the 鈥淟ate Show.鈥
Colbert鈥檚 relentless criticism of Trump, his denunciation of the settlement, and the parent company's pending sale 鈥 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.
