CBS Ends The Late Show in 2025
CBS has confirmed that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2025. The broadcaster described the move as a “purely financial decision” and added that Colbert remains “irreplaceable” in late-night television. Colbert revealed the decision on Thursday, saying the network chose not to extend the program beyond the upcoming broadcast season.
CBS ends Stephen Colbert’s show
Industry Colleagues Express Anger
Fellow late-night hosts responded with public messages of frustration. Jimmy Kimmel posted, “love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS.” Jimmy Fallon also weighed in, stating, “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.”
Seth Meyers shared on Instagram, “For as great a comedian and host he is, Stephen Colbert is an even better person.” He added, “I’m going to miss having him on TV every night, but I’m excited he can no longer use the excuse that he’s ‘too busy to hang out’ with me.”
Jimmy Fallon through his Instagram story
Trump Reacts on Truth Social
US President Donald Trump reacted to the news on his Truth Social platform, writing, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” Trump continued, “Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
Rumours Over Political Influence
The cancellation follows increasing speculation of political influence. Paramount, CBS’s parent company, recently agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump. The lawsuit centred on a 60 Minutes interview aired in 2024, which included Democratic challenger Kamala Harris. Paramount is also seeking Federal Communications Commission approval for a proposed $12.9 billion merger with Skydance Media.
In response, Colbert criticised the settlement during Monday’s monologue, calling it a “big fat bribe” and saying he was “offended.” CBS executives denied any connection, stating the cancellation “is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Democratic Senators Call for Answers
US Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren voiced concern over the timing of Colbert’s cancellation. “CBS cancelled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” she wrote on social media. “America deserves to know if his show was cancelled for political reasons.”
Colbert Confirms Show’s End With Audience
Addressing his audience, Colbert acknowledged the network’s decision and said, “Yeah, I share your feelings.” He added, “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.”
Entertainment Industry Offers Support
Eleven-time Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus voiced support, writing, “I stand with my friend Stephen Colbert.” She quoted David Graham, directing it at CBS and Paramount chairwoman Shari Redstone: “Institutions that are willing to sacrifice their values for the government’s favour are likely to end up with neither.”
Actor Adam Scott, star of Severance, commented, “Love you Stephen. This is absolute bulls***. And I for one am looking forward to the next 10 months of shows.”
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Colbert’s Legacy and History with The Late Show
Colbert began hosting The Late Show in September 2015, succeeding David Letterman. Letterman had launched the program in 1993 following NBC’s decision to appoint Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. Colbert’s nine-year tenure redefined the show’s tone, often taking sharp political stances and drawing consistent ratings.
CBS reported strong performance metrics during Colbert’s run. The show led network late-night programming in key demographics and maintained strong viewership even during the writers’ strike and pandemic disruptions.
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CBS Faces Corporate Pressures and Restructuring
In the general spirit of corporate merging CBS has declared a number of restructuring plans designed to cost coordination and rationalization. These steps are followed by active regulatory examination of the proposed collaboration of Paramount and Skydance Media, suggesting the validity of the supposition that the present programming selection of the network can be viewed as intentional steps to eliminate regulatory-compliance barriers.
The move reflects larger industry trends toward faster consolidation. Along with the global reorganisation of streaming strategies, workforce cuts and readjustments of operations in some foreign markets have already become part of Paramount’s own internal reorganisation.
Audience Reaction and Future Uncertainty
The end of The Late Show caused a lot of bewilderment to the viewers, many social networks users were outraged by the move, despite the success of the show over its many years of its existence. Most of the critics observed that there will be a dramatic vacuum in the CBS prime time programming following the departure of Stephen Colbert.
Colbert has ensured that he will continue to air until May 2025, thus giving viewers and professional peers a lot of opportunity to follow up on his last season.
Conclusion
With the exit of Stephen Colbert, we have a final curtain of a unique period of late-night TV. Indeed, as there is also an increasing amount of political discourse and consequent concerns related to the motivation of the network, the last season of The Late Show is bound to come under closer observation.
