Overview
- Appearing via video on CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live, Stephen Colbert called his 2025 lesson “Don’t trust billionaires,” adding, “They don’t get rich by finding that money on the side of the road.”
- CBS has said ending The Late Show in May 2026 is a purely financial decision and has claimed the program was losing about $40 million annually despite leading its time slot.
- Industry reaction has questioned the rationale, with figures such as Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman suggesting the decision may be connected to Paramount’s merger with Skydance and David Ellison’s new leadership, though that remains unproven.
- Colbert previously criticized Paramount over a reported $16 million settlement to Donald Trump’s estate and later joked that a reported $108 billion takeover bid showed the company could afford to reverse his show’s cancellation.
- During the CNN segment, Colbert also joined a playful “Never Have I Ever” game and admitted he has occasionally forgotten that a guest had already appeared on his show.