CBS cancels ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ for absolutely no political reason whatsoever.

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Welp, they got Colbert.

Just last week, Status reported that Paramount/Skydance/CBS were looking at firing Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart in the wake of the lawsuit Paramount just settled with President Epstein List. Colbert joked about it when he returned from vacation at the beginning of the week. And your trusty blogger wrote something flip about how I could see them pushing Stewart out, but that I was skeptical about Colbert, because he is not just the host of the highest-rated late-night show, but that he is also a marquee figure for CBS, and has been for a decade.

Shows what I know, kids, because last night on his program, Stephen Colbert announced he was told The Late Show was being canceled — he’s not just being fired, the entire show that David Letterman built is being thrown away altogether after 33 years. 

Stephen Colbert on his show last night: “It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

CBS and Paramount would like you to know that this is purely a “financial” decision and has absolutely positively NOTHING to do with them capitulating to President Bully and guaranteeing that their $8 billion merger with Skydance be approved by the FCC, why would you even think that?

“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise” in May of 2026, CBS executives said in a statement. “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.  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.”

Come on.

Look. It’s true that network television, and late-night specifically, are flailing as the streaming models have begun to dominate the TV business. It’s also true that CBS is desperately shedding as much debt as possible at this moment, and that The Late Show might be, at least in their minds, too expensive to justify, ratings or not.

But it is also undeniably true that Stephen Colbert (and Jon Stewart and The Daily Show) are also political nuisances for them at this point in their relationship with the current administration who has proven they will be retaliatory and willing to violate the First Amendment if the media dares to hurt their fee-fees. It’s a lot easier to just fire Colbert outright and face public backlash than it is to deal with another lawsuit or a moment’s delay in this merger. After all, if CBS was willing to throw 60 Minutes, their premiere title, to the wolves; what’s a comedian?

Stephen Colbert became host of The Late Show in 2015, having successfully created an entire conservative persona on The Colbert Report, a spinoff of The Daily Show. When tasked with hosting a network late-night series, Colbert had to shed the character, and present as himself. Trying to find his new voice, Colbert initially shied away from politics, the very topic that made him so popular in the first place. As a result, the first year hosting The Late Show was rocky, and he lagged behind his late-night cohorts. Then, Candidate Vulgarian arrived. When President Mushroom beat Hilary Clinton in 2016, Stephen Colbert returned to covering politics, and his show rocketed to the top of late-night — and to the annoyance of the TV-Watcher-in-Chief — where it has comfortably remained ever since.

In their coverage of this story, Variety pointed out something interesting, and telling about whether or not this was solely a financial decision, noting that this news was not broken during CBS’s Upfront presentation back in May. Networks have traditionally capitalized on the last season of a popular show, as they did when Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show or when Letterman himself left The Late Show, making the announcements during the Upfront presentations to their advertisers, and selling ad space during the last season as a unique opportunity. That didn’t happen here, which suggests to me two things: 1. the decision to cancel the show happened relatively recently, long after the May Upfronts, and 2. CBS has no real intention to bring more attention to The Late Show in its final season; it’s willing to leave money on the table just to get rid of Colbert.

The only good news from this is that Colbert has a year left (well, 10 months) to make good trouble on his show: what are they gonna do, fire him? And I hope he makes the most of every single moment of it, refusing to pull punches or soften blows. They may ultimately take his platform, but he still has his voice for now, and he needs to use it as loudly as he possibly can. 

As for his future, who knows. I could see him starting a podcast, like everyone else on the planet. But if HBO or Netflix were smart, they’d snatch Colbert up and give him a new home. That, however, would depend on a media conglomerate being brave and principled and willing to stand up to this current administration, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Godspeed, The Daily Show. I’d be updating my resumes if I were you guys.

Stephen Colbert is a profoundly good and deeply talented man with a great staff and an excellent show. They all deserve better.

— Andy Richter (@andyrichter.co) 2025-07-18T00:33:43.832Z

“I think it’s a sad day for late-night television,” he said. “I think it’s a sad day for CBS. I think Stephen Colbert is a singular talent. I can’t believe CBS is turning off the lights at 11:30 after the local news. I’m stunned. He’s one of three late-night shows deemed worthy enough for an Emmy nomination. He produces a brilliant show.” — Andy Cohen

“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. I’m sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30. But honestly, he’s really been a gentleman and a true friend over the years, going back to The Colbert Report, and I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.” — Jimmy Fallon

As much as I sympathize with Colbert, we do have to acknowledge that he did forget the most basic, foundational rule of comedy: How will this joke, monologue or sketch impact the sale of Paramount to Skydance?

— Frank Conniff (@frankconniff.bsky.social) 2025-07-18T01:40:23.365Z

Congrats to Stephen Colbert for never bending the knee.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T23:59:21.423Z

There’s another alarming media political story out there: Republicans have voted to defund PBS and NPR, and now the package of cuts is just waiting for President Edema’s signature. He’s obviously thrilled about this because he’s a fucking monster who doesn’t care that it will hurt public broadcasting in rural areas — closing radio stations and local TV stations in some markets, and eliminating disaster and emergency alerts for some communities. If you want to help PBS and NPR, you can obviously donate, but you can also subscribe to NPR+ and/or PBS Passport.

This isn't a solution given the scale of the problem, but just told my family we're cutting some of our streaming subs to add to our public media contributions. Bc priorities and many of those services are nice but PBS and NPR are essentials.

— Karin Wulf (@kawulf.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T15:05:25.825Z

The Senate just defunded NPR and PBS. PLEASE send support in any amount that you can. These services are CRUCIAL to providing news, emergency warning systems, and educational programming. The rural areas in our country will be especially impacted. They are a life-line for so many people…

— Debora (@deboralc.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T15:00:03.564Z

Bob Ross. Mr. Rodgers. Big Bird. Nova. Countless documentaries, both local and national. Common theme? PBS.I grew up a PBS kid and have enjoyed PBS programming as an adult. This is a shame, a ridiculous play by Republicans to bow in fealty. SHAME.

— Jess Herr (@jedicus.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T14:56:47.783Z

Defunding PBS and NPR is such a disgraceful and pitiful attack on education, learning, and truth.The GOP needs stupid people.johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/the-republ…

— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz.bsky.social) 2025-07-17T13:17:50.321Z

Here’s the thing about Shane Gillis: I know his comedy isn’t for me, he makes more sexist and racist jokes than I am comfortable with. But you know what? That’s OK! Not everything is for me, and let’s be honest, I was never going to watch the ESPYs, which he hosted earlier this week, so what do I care about his performance? I don’t! I don’t care! But what I will say about him is that it’s not so much his material that I find offensive, as it is his unwillingness to take responsibility for the jokes when they fail. Throwing your writers — or the audience itself — under the bus when you don’t get a laugh? That’s hack behavior. 

Despite being fairly highly rated, and generating as many (if not more) views than other titles on Netflix, The Residence, Pulse, and The Recruit were all canceled. But this is just another example of how the ratings themselves are only part of the equation of how a series is renewed … or not. Because the bottom line is these three shows were ultimately too expensive to produce to not be huge hits.

Wait, hold up, The Real Housewives of London isn’t going to be available in the US on either Bravo or Peacock? What nonsense is this?

Joshua Jackson seems pretty convinced Doctor Odyssey isn’t coming back, guys. That would have been such a great hate blog, by the way, that show was some NONSENSE, in the best possible way.

I hope when Skynet goes live, the robots come for the media CEOs first. 

Hey, Peacock is raising its price because they have to pay for the upcoming NBA content somehow. But the thing is, I don’t want the NBA? And I wish there were a way they could just charge the folks who actually want to watch the NBA the extra surcharge? Give them a little NBA+ package? No? We all have to pay for it whether we use it or not? Kinda like cable packages? Cool. Cool cool cool.

Ghost Hunter‘s Jason Hawes would prefer you not blame Dan Rivera’s death on Annabelle. And Rivera’s partner said in a recent video that his death was not a “plot twist,” which is fair. Rivera is a person with loved ones who are grieving him, and a life that was bigger than this scary doll. But you also can’t actively sell the doll as being a cursed object and then become offended when people attribute a tragic event to said curse, right?

Get well soon, Tristan Rogers! Kick cancer’s ass!

Cancellations

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end after 11 seasons on CBS, 33 seasons as The Late Show. 

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

  • Alien: Earth will debut on Hulu on August 12.

  • Limitless: Live Better Now returns on Hulu and Disney+ on August 15 and on National Geographic on August 25.

  • The Yogurt Shop Murders will debut on HBO Max on August 3.

  • True Crime Story: Smugshot will premiere on AMC+ on August 14.

  • Night Always Comes debuts on Netflix on August 15.

  • One Hit Wonder will debut on Netflix on August 21.

  • Saare Jahan Se Accha debuts on Netflix on August 13.

  • Taurasi will debut on Prime Video on August 7.

  • Stillwater premieres on Apple TV+ on August 1.

R.I.P.

Jamie Bennett, CBS and Disney executive who created Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Siskel and Ebert and Win, Lose or Draw among others

Annet McCroskey, CEO at Artistic Endeavors, talent manager, and producer

Skip Brittenham, Hollywood attorney

WATCH THIS

FRIDAY

Billy Joel: And So It Goes: A two-part look into the life of the Grammy-award-winning pop star. Premiere. 7 p.m., HBO

The Fixer: Investor and entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis helps businesses figure out how to thrive in this new reality series. Series premiere. 7 p.m., Fox

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: A Queen is chosen from the queens. Season finale. Paramount+

SATURDAY

2025 WNBA All-Star Game: Live from Indianapolis. 7:30 p.m., ABC

I Love You Forever: Sofia Black-D’Elia stars as a disillusioned law student who falls for a journalist in this “subversive” rom-com. 7 p.m., HBO

Novocaine: Jack Quaid stars in this action comedy as a man incapable of pain who has to rescue the girl of his dreams when she is kidnapped. 7 p.m., MGM+

SUNDAY

Shark Week: Let the week begin with Dancing With Sharks; Air Jaws: The Hunt for Colossus; and Great White Assassins. 7 p.m., Discovery

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Remember when politics could be inspiring? LOL. 7 p.m., TCM

Grease & Urban Cowboy: In case you’re ready to get your John Travolta on. 4:30 p.m., CMT

FRI. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Celebrity Jeopardy!
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CBS NCIS: Sydney
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CW MLB Baseball
(live)
FOX The Fixer
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NBC Happy’s Place
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—

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ABC WNBA All-Star Game
(live)		 News/Local
CBS The Equalizer
(repeat)		 48 Hours 48 Hours News/Local
FOX MLB Baseball
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NBC The Wall
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Local		 Saturday Night Live
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—

SUN. 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
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3 thoughts on “CBS cancels ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ for absolutely no political reason whatsoever.”

  1. My son and DIL were at the taping of Thursday’s Late Show. Apparently they had a different cold open planned but changed it at the last minute.

    Reply
  2. Pingback: HEY. THAT'S NOT HOW WE CELEBRATE CONSTITUTION DAY, Y'ALL.

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