The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026 at the close of the 2025-26 broadcast season. Colbert announced the news during tonight’s taping at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.
“Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night,” Stephen Colbert began. “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May.”
To ringing boos from the audience, Colbert said, “Yeah, I share your feelings. It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I am not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
Colbert went on to say: “I do want to say the folks at CBS have been great partners. I’m so grateful to ‘The Tiffany Network’ for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here, out there, all around the world – Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea.
“I’m grateful to share the stage with this band, these artists over here and I am extraordinarily deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here…Let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. It’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months. It’s going to be fun. OK, that’s all I wanted to say.”
Colbert’s remarks from tonight’s show were posted on Instagram. Watch here.
In a joint statement, three top CBS executives, said The Late Show franchise will be “retired” at the end of Colbert’s run.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” George Cheeks, co-CEO Paramount Global and president and CEO, CBS; Amy Reisenbach, president, CBS Entertainment; and David Stapf, president, CBS Studios said in a joint statement.
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire 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.
“Our admiration, affection and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult. Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news and newsmakers across all areas. The show has been No. 1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen’s comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist.
“The accomplishments of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are memorable and significant in performance, quality and stature. With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert debuted on Sept. 8, 2015, about four months after David Letterman ended his 23-year run as host of The Late Show With David Letterman. That show debuted on Aug. 30, 1993 and ran through May 20, 2015.
Colbert had previously hosted The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, which ran from Oct. 17, 2005 until Dec. 18, 2014.
Just last week, Colbert’s show received a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding talk series. It was one of only three series nominated this year, along with The Daily Show (Comedy Central) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC). Colbert’s show has been nominated eight times in that category, but it has never won. What do you want to bet that it wins this year?