Overview

• CBS and Paramount insist the decision to retire The Late Show in May 2026 was purely financial, citing steep production costs and declining linear viewership.
• Stephen Colbert labeled Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump a “big fat bribe” on Monday, three days before CBS announced the show’s end.
• Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have publicly demanded transparency, warning that political motives could be behind the timing of the cancellation.
• The Writers Guild of America called the move a potential bribe sacrificing free speech and urged New York’s attorney general to investigate Paramount’s conduct.
• Anonymous CBS staffers and industry analysts question the timing in relation to Paramount’s pending Skydance merger and ongoing FCC review under a Trump-appointed commissioner.