CBS Canceling ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’

[Ralph Wiggum]

CBS said Thursday that it was canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and retiring a late-night franchise that has existed for more than three decades.

Mr. Colbert’s run — and “The Late Show” itself — will end in May.

“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” said George Cheeks, the president of CBS and co-chief executive of Paramount, CBS’s parent company. “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.”

NY Slimes link via paywall.

Edit: Fox News link

https://www.foxnews.com/media/cbs-cancels-the-late-show-stephen-colbert-end-program-may-2026

And Gutfeld slays another loser...

[SVPete]

Translating the SeeBS blah-blah into accurate English, Colbert's audience isn't large enough to garner sufficient ad revenue, so they're cancelling him (pun intended).

[Ptarmigan]

Why can it in May 2026 if it is a financial decision?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Why can it in May 2026 if it is a financial decision?

They probably have to pay off his contract whether the show is on the air or not. And his staff of hundreds are likely unionized who can't be axed immediately. Gutfeld has mentioned this before both on TV and on his website. His show has a staff of about 15 people, most of whom work in other capacities on the network. The other late night shows typically have 15 writers and probably 15 executive producers, not to mention all the other supporting folks.

Coal-bert and Kimmel simply lost the ability to be funny when President Trump emerged on the political scene. That is their main mission: to be entertaining.