One of the giants of the US’ late night talk shows and a major critic of Donald Trump has been abruptly dropped by his network, after a major legal battle with the President. As a result, from next year, ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ will be no more.
In a statement from CBS, owned by Paramount Global, the network announced: “‘THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT’ will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire the ‘THE LATE SHOW’ franchise at that time. 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.”
But the move comes just weeks after CBS’ parent company forced them to settle in a major Trump lawsuit over the alleged altering of an episode of ’60 Minutes’. The network paid the US President $16 million to settle out of court.
Stephen Colbert himself broke the news to his audience during Thursday’s show, saying: “Before we start the show, I want to let you know something I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending ‘The Late Show’ in May.”
The announcement has sparked an outpouring of disappointment on social media platforms, where fans have been expressing their dismay with comments such as, “Stephen Colbert deserves better! I’m absolutely not ready to NOT have Stephen Colbert on my TV at night,” and “CBS letting Stephen Colbert go is BS! Boycott CBS” dominating the conversation on X.
Several viewers have suggested that the cancellation might be connected to the network’s recent legal settlement with President Trump, particularly given Stephen’s outspoken criticism of the President, reports the Mirror US. Paramount Global is currently undergoing a merger with Skydance Media, which requires Federal Communications Commission approval.
“Just days after Paramount announces it settles the lawsuit Trump brought against them, they announce they are cancelling Stephen Colbert. Can’t help but think the cancelling of Stephen Colbert’s show was part of the settlement that Paramount agreed to. It’s so obvious,” one fan wrote.
Another viewer shared similar concerns, stating: “I’m not going to pretend that Stephen Colbert is perfect or anything, but it really does not sit right with me that this news comes just after Paramount settled with Trump and in the midst of merging with Skydance Media. This just feels like textbook censorship, plain and simple.”
Stephen previously presented the satirical news programme The Colbert Report on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014 before taking over from David Letterman as presenter of The Late Show on CBS.
