Stephen Colbert’s ‘the Late Present’ on CBS Is Getting Canceled

CBS introduced on Thursday that “The Late Present With Stephen Colbert” might be canceled after subsequent yr, ending a collection that has been working for greater than three many years.

Colbert introduced the discuss present’s cancellation on Thursday through a clip of his new episode, posted on Instagram.

“Earlier than we begin the present, I wish to let you already know one thing I came upon simply final night time,” he stated. “Subsequent yr might be our final season. The community might be ending ‘The Late Present’ in Might.”

His announcement was adopted by an extended wave of boos from the viewers.

Colbert took over as host of the discuss present beforehand helmed by David Letterman in 2015, and has been working it for the final 10 years. The present was first aired in 1993.

CBS executives stated in an announcement to The New York Occasions on Thursday that the cancellation was “purely a monetary choice in opposition to a difficult backdrop in late night time.”

“It isn’t associated in any option to the present’s efficiency, content material or different issues occurring at Paramount,” the assertion to the NYT added.

Scores from the American viewers measurement firm, Nielsen, seen by a number of information shops, present that “The Late Present” carried out properly in its timeslot. The present notched 2.417 million viewers throughout 41 new episodes, and was the one late-night present to achieve viewers in 2025.

The cancellation comes shortly after Paramount, on July 1, agreed to pay President Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over a lawsuit the president filed in opposition to it. The lawsuit accused CBS’s “60 Minutes” of “misleading modifying” of his interview with presidential rival Kamala Harris.

Colbert referenced the settlement in an episode on July 14, titled “A Massive Bribe.”

Making a joke in regards to the settlement, he stated, “As somebody who has at all times been a proud worker of this community, I’m offended, and I do not know if something will ever restore my belief on this firm. However simply taking a stab at it, I might say $16 million would assist.”

Lawmakers have sounded out considerations in regards to the present’s cancellation, asking CBS if the choice was political in nature.

Sen. Adam Schiff of California was one of many first to touch upon it.

“Simply completed taping with Stephen Colbert who introduced his present was cancelled,” Schiff wrote in a late Thursday night X publish.

“If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Present for political causes, the general public deserves to know. And deserves higher,” Schiff added.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts launched an announcement simply hours after the cancellation announcement.

“CBS canceled Colbert’s present simply three days after Colbert known as out CBS proprietor Paramount for its $16 settlement with Trump — a deal that appears like bribery. America deserves to know if his present was canceled for political causes,” Warren stated.

Trump has been a daily subject on Colbert’s present — notably throughout his opening monologues. He is additionally touched on a number of the administration’s main scandals, together with in his Wednesday episode, the place he talked about Trump and the disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

In September, Trump criticized Colbert in a Fact Social publish.

“Why would they be losing time and the general public’s cash on this entire and complete loser? He isn’t humorous, which he will get paid far an excessive amount of to be, he isn’t clever, he’s VERY BORING, and his present is dying from an entire lack of viewers,” Trump wrote within the publish.

Representatives for CBS and Paramount didn’t reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.