Overview

• CBS said the cancellation responds to unsustainable production losses of more than $40 million annually on a budget exceeding $100 million.
• Stephen Colbert announced on July 17 that The Late Show will conclude in May 2026 after a 33-year run on CBS.
• Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with President Trump has raised concerns that the cancellation was timed to secure merger approval with Skydance Media.
• CBS staffers and media figures have described the decision as a chilling of free speech and questioned the network’s purely financial rationale.
• The Writers Guild of America has urged New York’s attorney general to investigate whether the cancellation constituted a political bribe.