Colbert departed Thursday as CBS ended the long-running “Late Night” franchise and handed the time slot to syndicated programming.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Is Coming Thursday night’s final episode, It marked the end of Colbert’s decade-long hosting career and the end of CBS’s long-running late-night series.
The show’s finale marks the end of a project started by David Letterman in 1993 before Colbert took over in 2015.
CBS executives announced earlier this year that the network would cancel the “Late Show” series entirely rather than replace Colbert with another host.
Why is Colbert ending?
Colbert announced during a taping last July that CBS planned to end the show in May 2026.
“Next year will be our last season. The network is wrapping up Late Night in May,” Colbert told viewers at the time.
Network executives said the decision was driven by financial considerations and had nothing to do with the show’s content or performance.
“We believe Stephen Colbert is irreplaceable and will be leaving The Late Show at that time,” CBS executives George Cheeks, Amy Reisenbach and David Stapf said in a statement.
What will replace “The Late Show”?
CBS won’t be launching another version of “The Late Show” after Colbert exits.
Instead, the network plans to air Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed at 11:35 p.m. ET.
The roundtable-style comedy talk show features comedians including Sebastian Maniscalco, Tiffany Haddish, Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric the Entertainer and Nate Bagez. Since its premiere in September 2006, the show has premiered for 20 consecutive seasons.
The 12:35 a.m. slot will be filled by “Funny You Should Ask,” a syndicated game show created by Ellen and hosted by Jon Kelly.
Allen’s show tends to avoid political humor and is designed for repeat airings—some “Comics Unleashed” episodes on CBS are more than 10 years old, according to the Los Angeles Times.
How to watch the final show
The final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will air Thursday at 11:35 pm ET on CBS. As of Thursday morning, CBS had not announced guests for the finale.
Guests for the show’s final week include Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen.
