Overview
- The final episode aired May 21 and closed Colbert’s 11‑year run with a largely nonpolitical, celebrity‑filled farewell capped by Paul McCartney performing with Colbert.
- Colbert staged surreal sketches including a wormhole bit with Neil deGrasse Tyson and brief appearances from fellow hosts who had shown public solidarity by airing reruns or joining the finale.
- CBS said last year the cancellation was a financial choice and will replace the 11:35 p.m. hour with Byron Allen’s syndicated Comics Unleashed while leaving open the possibility of future original late‑night projects.
- Critics note the timing of the shutdown came after Paramount paid $16 million to settle Donald Trump’s suit and sought merger approvals, and many colleagues and commentators say that raises questions about political influence on the decision.
- The broader late‑night landscape faces falling viewers and ad revenue, which networks are responding to by cutting costs with syndication and time‑buy models, a shift that threatens jobs and the culture of nightly political satire.