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CBS will end 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' next year
Stephen Colbert at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on April 21, 2024.
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Kevin Winter
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While taping his Thursday show, host Stephen Colbert made the surprising announcement that CBS is ending his late night show in May.
The live audience at New York's Ed Sullivan Theater booed when he delivered the news that this would be the show's final season.
"Yeah, I share your feelings," he told the audience. "It's not just the end our our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."
Colbert has hosted the top-rated show since 2015, taking over for David Letterman.
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The news comes just days after Colbert criticized CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, for paying $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom Colbert regularly skewers in his monologues. Trump claimed the network interfered in the 2024 election by editing a 60 Minutes interview with his opponent, Kamala Harris.
The decision to shutter Late Night With Stephen Colbert also comes as Paramount Global seeks Federal Communications Commission approval to merge with Skydance Media, a $8.4 billion agreement.
In a statement, the network said ending the show was a financial decision, "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."
But fans are skeptical. California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who was a guest on Thursday's show, called for more transparency over the decision. "If Paramount and CBS ended The Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know," he posted on X. " And deserves better."
Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) July 17, 2025
If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others on social media also weighed in, expressing skepticism about the timing of the decision to end the show.
CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 18, 2025
America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.
Watch and share his message. pic.twitter.com/Rz7HcWFLYM
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Copyright 2025 NPR
Corrected July 18, 2025 at 6:54 AM PDT
A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Democrat Adam Schiff of California as a U.S. representative. He is now a U.S. senator.
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