Overview
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its series finale on Thursday, May 21, 2026, with an extended sendoff that featured high‑profile guests and tribute segments.
- CBS has maintained the July 2025 decision to end the program was a purely financial move unrelated to content or parent‑company matters.
- Critics, staffers and several farewell guests tied the timing to Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump and the Skydance–Paramount merger approval, with on‑air rebukes from figures such as Bruce Springsteen and Robert De Niro.
- Colbert and reports say the shutdown had immediate human costs: the show was given a rapid clearance of the Ed Sullivan Theater, roughly 200 crew members face job losses, and CBS plans to fill the 11:35 p.m. slot with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed in a time‑buy model.
- Colbert is moving to new projects, including co‑writing a Lord of the Rings film, while the end of his run spotlights a shift in late‑night TV toward lower‑cost programming and renewed debate over corporate ties to political power.