Overview

• CBS will retire The Late Show franchise when Colbert’s final season ends in May 2026, closing a 32-year institution.
• Network statements describe the cancellation as a “purely a financial decision” against a backdrop of declining late-night revenues.
• Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump and Colbert’s public criticism have prompted Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren to demand clarity on political motivations.
• Colbert called the Trump settlement “a big fat bribe” during his monologue and confirmed that the show will not be replaced.
• The Late Show averaged about 2.417 million viewers across new episodes this year, making it the only late-night program to gain audience in 2025.