Stephen Colbert Announces The Late Show Will End May 21, 2026
CBS will retire The Late Show franchise due to financial reasons after 33 years, with Stephen Colbert's final episode airing on May 21, 2026, marking the end of late-night on CBS.
- Stephen Colbert announced during Late Night with Seth Meyers on January 27, 2026, that CBS will air The Late Show's final episode on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
- CBS executives said the cancellation was a purely financial decision not related to the show's performance or Paramount matters and followed Colbert's criticism of Paramount Global's $16M settlement amid Skydance Media's merger.
- During a Late Night taping airing January 27, 2026, Colbert, 61, said, `I share your feelings` and confirmed about four months remain before the May 21 finale.
- CBS said it will retire The Late Show franchise in May 2026 and called Colbert irreplaceable, while the Writers Guild of America urged investigations and asked officials to probe the cancellation amid free-speech concerns.
- Since 1993 the Late Show franchise began with David Letterman and Stephen Colbert took over in 2015, but its end in 2026 leaves CBS without late-night television for over three decades.
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Stephen Colbert admits Late Show cancellation finally 'feels real' as final show approaches
Stephen Colbert admits his Late Show cancellation is finally starting to "feel real". The 61-year-old talk show host has opened up on the end of his stint on the programme after 10 years on air, with the final episode set to air in May. Appearing on Late Night with Seth Myers, he told hi...
Stephen Colbert Reveals Date Of His Final 'Late Show' Episode In Poignant Interview: 'It Feels Real Now'
Yesterday, Seth Meyers welcomed his Strike Force Five podcast buddy Stephen Colbert to Late Night, marking a rare and unexpectedly emotional reunion between the two late-night hosts.Colbert hadn’t appeared on Meyers’ NBC show in more than 10 years, making the sit-down feel less like press and more like a warm check-in between old friends—just with cameras rolling and the FCC watching… allegedly, of course.For those who don’t recall, last summer …
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