The Real Reason The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Was Canceled

CBS and parent company Paramount Global shocked audiences and media figures alike on July 17, 2025, when they announced the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” per Deadline. Colbert, the successor of original host David Letterman, fronted the show for the first time on September 8, 2015, becoming synonymous with the Trump era of late-night television. CBS isn’t just replacing Colbert, but axing “The Late Show” entirely. The talk show premiered on August 30, 1993, and has been filmed at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York ever since, having aired 5,933 episodes across 32 years, and will continue to air until May 2026.

While “The Late Show” is not quite the institution as NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” having only had two hosts (Letterman and Colbert) since its inception, it has nonetheless been a prominent fixture in the late-night landscape, having won a Peabody and garnered six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Talk Series. In fact, it’s been the highest-rated late-night show for nine consecutive seasons, and CBS has been the most-watched network for 17 seasons in a row (per Nielsen and Paramount). Perhaps that’s why fans were confused when CBS called the cancellation “a financial decision.”

While Puck’s Matthew Belloni has claimed “The Late Show” was losing CBS $40 million a year, the timing of CBS’ decision has only complicated things further. Speculation about the cancellation is bubbling up all over the internet, with everyone from Jimmy Kimmel to Donald Trump weighing in on the unexpected news.

Despite ending their late-night talk show in controversy, CBS effusively praised “The Late Show” and Stephen Colbert in their press statement (as shared by CNN’s Brian Stelter). “Our admiration, affection, and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult,” read the joint statement from co-CEO of Paramount Global and president of CBS George Cheeks; Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment; and David Stapf, president of CBS Studios. “Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews,” they add. “Stephen’s comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist.”

Colbert, who understands tragedy, announced the news to his audience, which responded with vocal disappointment. “I share your feelings,” responded Colbert (via Instagram). “I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. … I am grateful to you, the audience … I am extraordinarily deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. … It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.”

Colbert then announced his excitement at having 10 more months to do the job, though “The Late Show” will certainly feel different with this sense of impending finality enshrouding every episode. It’s also ample time for speculation to run wild and possible investigations to be conducted, as many people think there’s something fishy about this cancellation.

“This is purely a financial decision,” noted CBS’ press statement, “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Despite this, many people are concerned about exactly that, namely “other matters” related to politics and a major corporate merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.

The $8 billion merger has been under review by the FCC for nearly one year, with a deadline of October 6, 2025. With both the FCC chairman (Brendan Carr) and Skydance CEO (David Ellison) being right-wing supporters of President Trump, there has been speculation that CBS is not just compromising but completely capitulating, per The Wrap. After all, the FCC has made their agenda clear, having recently gutted public media and targeted supposedly “woke” outlets. “Any businesses that are looking for FCC approval, I would encourage them to get busy ending any sort of their invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” Carr told Bloomberg on March 21.

Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with Trump was also scrutinized as a kind of acquiescence to the FCC. In fact, three days before being canceled, Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe.” Senator Elizabeth Warren noticed this, writing on X, “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.” Back in May, Warren opened an actual investigation into Paramount’s merger.

Elizabeth Warren was hardly the only politician to speak out about the cancellation of “The Late Show.” Senator Adam Schiff, who was a guest on Colbert’s show the night of the announcement, wrote on X, “Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.” Meanwhile, Senator Martin Heinrich wrote on X, “CBS sells out … again.” Former congressperson Adam Kinzinger simply urged his X followers to cancel their Paramount+ subscriptions.

Congressperson Pramila Jayapal added her voice to the chorus on X, echoing Senator Warren’s message by writing, “Stephen Colbert’s show was canceled three days after he called out Paramount, CBS’s parent company, for folding to Trump with a $16M settlement for a lawsuit that even they called ‘without merit.’ People deserve to know if this is a politically motivated attack on free speech.”

One politician on the other side of the ideological spectrum has in fact celebrated the cancellation, and that’s Donald Trump. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” The petty glee with which Trump, who counts Colbert as among his biggest critics, embraces the cancellation of “The Late Show” certainly doesn’t help dispel allegations that CBS pulled the plug to help its dealings with the FCC.

Colbert’s peers in the late-night community have been specifically vocal about his cancellation. Jimmy Kimmel was the first late-night host to react (and with profane brevity), posting a story on his Instagram which read, “Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS” (via The Hollywood Reporter). Jimmy Fallon also posted to Instagram, writing, “I’m just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come.”

In his Instagram Stories, Seth Meyers wrote, “For as great a comedian and host he is, Stephen Colbert is an even better person. I’m going to miss having him on TV every night but I’m excited he can no longer use the excuse that he’s ‘too busy to hang out’ with me.”

Colbert and “The Late Show” began trending shortly after the news was announced Thursday evening, and the attention to CBS’ decision has only grown since then. There has been cacophonous online noise from both blindsided fans and giddy, gloating haters alike. Charlotte Clymer writes in a viral X post, “‘Financial reasons’ my ass. This is purely political.” Meanwhile, Meghan McCain warns on X, “If Jimmy Fallon and his team were smart they would start inviting prominent republicans on as guests and treat them like humans.” To which Mike Nellis responds by writing, “Meghan McCain basically admiting [sic] Colbert was fired for being critical of Trump.”

“The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart considered this on the day Colbert was canceled, ruminating over the Paramount merger before CBS dropped the news. “The Daily Show” airs on Comedy Central, which is owned by Paramount. “We haven’t heard anything from [Paramount or CBS],” said Stewart on the July 17, 2025, episode of his “Weekly Show” podcast. “They haven’t called me and said like, ‘Don’t get too comfortable in that office.’ … If they’re looking at it as purely a real estate transaction, I think we bring a lot of value. That may not be their consideration. They may sell the whole f****** place for parts.”

Late-night is on shaky ground outside Paramount, as well, and Colbert’s fellow TV hosts aren’t just sad about “The Late Show,” but likely worried about their own shows. If the most-watched program of the bunch can get axed, what does that say about theirs? As former “Tonight Show” showrunner Gavin Purcell told The Hollywood Reporter, late-night is going through a major transition. “What you’re seeing is the slow destruction of the traditional Hollywood pipeline, and you’re going to see a lot less big shots,” said Purcell. “On networks, it’s just trickier now.”

Jimmy Kimmel is in the final season of his three-year contract, per The Hollywood Reporter, and it remains to be seen whether “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will continue after that. Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon have contracts through 2028. And, of course, “The Late Show” has until May 2026.

On July 18, 2025, the Writers Guild of America released a press statement in support of Colbert, calling on New York State Attorney General Letitia James (who previously prosecuted Donald Trump) to investigate Paramount. The WGA presents the chronology of events in a way which questions the motives of CBS — Paramount settled the “baseless” lawsuit with Trump on July 2; Colbert calls it a “big fat bribe” on July 15; CBS cancels his show on July 17. “The Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that ‘The Late Show’s cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval,” writes the WGA.

The statement goes on to suggest that the “bad faith” termination of the show was down to political pressure, something which is “dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society,” especially at a time when free speech and the right of dissent is seemingly under attack. “We call on our elected leaders to hold those responsible to account,” concludes the WGA statement, “and to assure the public that Colbert and his writers were not censored due to their views or the whims of the President.”

If Colbert’s cancellation was intended to capitulate to the FCC, as some have alleged, the decision may have just backfired horribly. There is now an even brighter spotlight on Paramount and their merger with Skydance, shining away any shady deeds.