
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to end in 2026 after 30 years
'This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners.
'I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show.
'We get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I've had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years.'
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Lorde during Tuesday's June 24, 2025 show. Photo / Getty Images
CBS later said axing the show was a 'purely a financial decision'.
'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,' read a group statement from Paramount co-CEO and CBS president and CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment head Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios president David Stapf.
'We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. 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.'
While Colbert was on a blockbuster salary at the network, rumoured to be US$15 million ($25.19m) per year, commentary has quickly turned to Paramount Global's recent settlement with US President Donald Trump.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, is on the brink of merging with media company Skydance in coming months, but the merger has been plagued by controversy after Trump's defamation lawsuit last year, in which he accused CBS's 60 Minutes of broadcasting a misleading interview with Kamala Harris before he was elected president for a second time.
Despite the case being deemed meritless by company executives, Paramount ultimately settled with the President for US$16 million ($26.87m) earlier this month. Some critics were convinced the settlement took place to bolster the merger's chances of approval under the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Colbert blasted his own employer on live TV over the saga.
CBS cited financial reasons for cancelling the show, emphasising it was not related to performance. Photo / Getty Images
'As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended,' Colbert said.
'And I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help.
'Paramount knows they could have fought it,' Colbert continued, citing the company's own statement Mr Trump's claims were 'completely without merit'.
'And keep in mind, Paramount produced Transformers: Rise of the Beast – they know completely without merit,' he joked.
However, in its statement, CBS said the settlement played no part in its decision to axe The Late Show.
'This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,' the statement continued.
'Our admiration, affection, and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonising decision even more difficult.
'Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news and newsmakers across all areas.
'The show has been No. 1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen's comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation's Zeitgeist.
'The accomplishments of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are memorable and significant in performance, quality and stature. With much gratitude, we look forward to honouring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
Are we seeing the demise of the Late Show format?
life and society culture 27 minutes ago This week our office chat has been dominated by two stories, the demise of late night shows after the axeing of Stephen Colbert's show 'The Late Show' and whether the reaction to that Coldplay kiss was monstrous or perfectly okay. Kate Rodger and Olivia Wilson discuss with Jesse.

1News
13 hours ago
- 1News
Tesla profit plunges as Musk's forays into politics continue to hit
The fallout from Elon Musk's plunge into politics a year ago is still hammering his Tesla business, with both sales and profits dropping sharply again in the latest quarter. The car company, which has faced months of boycotts, said today that revenue dropped 12% and profits slumped 16% in the three months through June as buyers continued to stay away. Quarterly profits at the electric vehicle, battery and robotics company fell to US$1.17 billion (NZ$1.93 billion), or 33 cents a share (NZ$0.55), down from US$1.4 billion (NZ$2.31 billion), or 40 cents a share (NZ$0.66). That marked the third consecutive quarter of declining profit. Revenue also fell, dropping from US$25.5 billion (NZ$42.08 billion) to US$22.5 billion (NZ$37.13 billion) in the April through June period — though that was still slightly above Wall Street's forecast. Musk and politics ADVERTISEMENT Elon Musk has previously said he's formed a new political party, but it was unclear what steps - if any - he'd taken to do so, or how the effort might affect upcoming elections. The possible new political party marked another development in the rift between Musk and US President Donald Trump over the Republican's sweeping tax cuts law, which the tech billionaire called "insane". The fissures between Trump and his one-time top surrogate and Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutter-in-chief have exposed not only the fragile nature of relations between two of the country's most visible personalities but also the potential political consequences of disagreeing with the priorities of either man. The squabble could be particularly costly for Musk, whose businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts.


NZ Herald
14 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Phil Gifford: When Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath lit up a farm in Ngaruawahia
Black Sabbath (L-R) Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne pose for a portrait on May 31, 1970 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images 'I hope we didn't freak you out,' yelled Ozzy. 'This one should help you. It's called PARANOID!' The Ngāruawāhia festival came three years after the film documentary on Woodstock was screened here. Woodstock was a turning point in first world youth culture, radically departing from older generations' attitudes to everything from drugs to nudity. I'd been despatched to Ngāruawāhia as a reporter by the newspaper in Auckland where I was writing about everything from music to sport to shipwrecks. It was quickly clear the massive influence Woodstock had on many of the music fans who headed to our first home-grown festival. After a restless night trying to sleep in a small tent, I was puzzled by what the material was in the bikini the topless woman from the tent next door was wearing. Then I realised she wasn't wearing anything. Tribute to Black Sabbath front man and legend of heavy metal music, Ozzy Osbourne, by NZ Herald cartoonist Rod Emmerson. Nudity, a la Woodstock was commonplace over the next three days. The opening act, Kiwi singer Corben Simpson, sang a couple of songs and then announced it was 'too hot'. He stripped naked to finish his set. Five months later he was in court where he was fined for 'wilfully and obscenely exposing his person'. Musically, Ngāruawāhia offered a stage to an amazing range of future giants in New Zealand music. The festival's co-promoter Barry Coburn was the manager of a gifted Auckland group calling themselves Split Ends. Sadly it was the wrong place and the wrong time for a band, which was then featuring flute and violin solos. At best the audience reception could be described as cool. Ozzy Osbourne (left) and American musician Randy Rhoads (1956-1982), on electric guitar, as they perform during the Blizzard of Oz tour, at Nassau Coliseum in 1981. Photo / Getty Images The future Split Enz weren't the only ones battling, at the very start of their careers, to win the crowd over. Dragon, with just one Hunter brother, Todd, played to a muted reception. On the other hand, there was an ecstatic reaction to the co-headline act, the British folk band Fairport Convention. Very much the yin to Black Sabbath's prototype heavy metal yang, the Fairports had the moshpit dancing to old Scottish and Irish reels and jigs. But there was no question that the big-name act was Sabbath. To get them to New Zealand required a trip to Britain for tyro promoter Coburn. In 2011, he wrote in the Herald how he had flown to Europe and saw Sabbath's manager Don Arden, at Arden's home in London. Coburn was greeted at the door of the luxury house in Wimbledon by Arden's daughter, the then-teenaged Sharon. (Who would have guessed that Sharon would later marry Ozzy and become known throughout the world with the stunning success of the reality TV show The Osbournes?) Coburn was just 22, so dealing with Arden, described by the Guardian when he died in 2007, as the 'Al Capone of British music' took some backbone. In the mid 1970s in Auckland I found myself sitting next to Arden and his Irish wife Hope at a dinner hosted for the visitors by a local record company executive. Hope, a former dancer, was a delight, rolling out anecdotes about film star Cary Grant, their next door neighbour when they were in Los Angeles. Don was exactly what I had expected, revelling in stories that basically painted him as a semi-gangster. When he heard that rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry had recently been in Auckland, he took special delight in recounting details of a show he had co-promoted in the 1960s in Germany with a former SS officer. Berry was refusing to go on stage until he had been paid. 'The German pulled out this big Luger pistol and pointed it at Berry's head. There were no more arguments.' The night made it very clear that any charm Sharon Osbourne has comes from her mother.