CBS announced in July that the award-winning late-night show would end in May, calling the decision a “purely financial” one.

Late Show With Stephen Colbert sets final episode date

CBS announced in July that the award-winning late-night show would end in May, calling the decision a "purely financial" one.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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January 27, 2026 3:24 p.m. ET

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Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show'. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

*The Late Show With Stephen Colbert* officially has an end date for its signing off.

Six months after CBS announced that the venerable *Late Show* franchise would be ending after more than three decades, ** has confirmed that the series finale will air on Thursday, May 21.

The show's beloved host Stephen Colbert revealed the news during Monday's taping of *Late Night With Seth Meyers*, which will air Tuesday, per LateNighter.

The news isn't surprising, since CBS said the show would be retired at the end of the broadcast season in its initial announcement in July. "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," the statement declared.

Stephen Colbert hosting The Late Show' on Dec. 18, 2025.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

"This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," the company added. "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

Still, the announcement took the industry by surprise, considering that *The Late Show* has seen much success since Colbert took over as host in September 2015. At the time, he replaced David Letterman, who launched the franchise in August 1993. Letterman announced his retirement in 2014, and his final episode aired in May 2015.

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Critics cried foul over the cancellation given the suspicious timing; the news came days after Colbert had criticized CBS' corporate parent, Paramount Global, for settling a suit filed by President Donald Trump that some legal observers think should have been dismissed on First Amendment grounds.

People questioned if ending the show came part and parcel with the then-pending merger of Paramount Global to Skydance Media — which required the approval of the Trump administration. The FCC approved the merger on July 24, eight days after Colbert announced the show's cancellation on air.

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Others, like Letterman, also floated the idea that the series may have been axed in order to minimize complications with the Federal Communications Commission over Paramount’s merger with Skydance media group.

When Colbert addressed those questions in the all-expansive "exit interview" with *GQ* in November, he bluntly stated that "no one's ever going to tell us."

However, the late-night veteran said he understood how others would draw the conclusion that the cancellation was politically motivated. "I can understand why people would have that reaction because CBS or the parent corporation decided to cut a check for $16 million to the president of the United States over a lawsuit that their own lawyers, Paramount's own lawyers, said is completely without merit," he added. "And it is self-evident that that is damaging to the reputation of the network, the corporation, and the news division. So it is unclear to me why anyone would do that other than to curry favor with a single individual."

Stephen Colbert hosting 'The Late Show' on Nov. 20, 2025.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Colbert said it's "reasonable" for people to theorize that his show's cancellation is associated with that, but quipped that he isn't interested in "picking up a broom or adding to refuse on the other side of the street."

"My side of the street is clean. [It's] not my problem," he continued. "So people can have their theories. I have my feelings about not doing the show anymore, but you'd have to show me why that's a fruitful relationship for me to have with my network for the next nine months, for me to engage in that speculation."

Trump's repeated celebrations over the news of *The Late Show*'s cancellation on social media didn't help the rumors much. When the news was first announced, Trump took to Truth Social, writing that he "absolutely love that Colbert got fired" and that the comedian's "talent was even less than his ratings."

The former *Apprentice* host has since gone on several social media tirades to publicly criticize the late-night hosts he's been playing a verbal tug-of-war with for months, which includes *Jimmy Kimmel Live* host Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert, and Seth Meyers. Trump has also repeatedly called for the hosts' shows to be put on the chopping block.

Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty; Disney; Lloyd Bishop/NBC

But despite his show ending, Colbert has made it clear that he has no plans to rein in his criticism of the sitting U.S president.

And despite Trump's passionate resentment and urging, he won't be getting his wish anytime soon with the remaining late-night hosts — Kimmel, Meyers, and *Tonight Show* host Jimmy Fallon have signed contract extensions that will keep them on TV for most of his presidency. Last year, both Fallon and Meyers renewed their contracts with NBC to host *The Tonight Show *and *Late Night* until 2028, and Kimmel recently inked a one-year contract extension with ABC to continue hosting *Live *through May 2027.**

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