CBS to end Stephen Colbert's run on The Late Show, retire the franchise - National & International News -

CBS announces Stephen Colbert’s run on The Late Show will end next year. Timing raises questions as parent company Paramount seeks merger approval from Trump administration.

CBS to end Stephen Colbert’s run on The Late Show, retire the franchise

CBS announced yesterday that Stephen Colbert’s time leading The Late Show will end in May 2026 and that the show itself will be retired thereafter. The announcement sparked an outpouring of support for Colbert, who took over the show from David Letterman in 2015, as well as anger and a great deal of speculation as to the timing of the announcement.

Ever since Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential run, Colbert has emerged as one of his most potent and persistent critics in the media. Some have wondered whether his cancelation was a sign of CBS bowing to pressure from the administration. Earlier this month, CBS’s parent company Paramount Global settled a lawsuit filed by Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris aired last fall. CBS had previously said the lawsuit was “without merit” and had asked a judge to dismiss it.

After returning from a two week hiatus, Colbert kicked off his return to The Late Show this Monday by taking aim at the settlement, which had happened while the show was on break. Colbert quipped, “I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it’s ‘big, fat bribe'”. He mentioned that Paramount is seeking approval from the Trump administration for a merger with Skydance media. Skydance media is owned by David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, a vocal supporter of Trump’s

It was during his taping of Thursday’s show that Colbert announced that his show would soon come to an end. CBS hastily issued a statement calling the decision to end The Late Show was purely a financial decision and had nothing to do with the show’s political content. It’s true that late night shows and broadcast TV in general are facing an increasingly challenging financial proposition. However, the timing of the announcement so soon after Colbert’s remarks was at the very least a public relations misstep.