Stephen Colbert will host his final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on May 21, bringing an end to an 11-year tenure that has cost CBS tens of millions of dollars annually in losses.
The 61-year-old comedian confirmed the end date during a Wednesday appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” expressing mixed emotions about the impending conclusion of his run.
“It feels real,” Colbert stated.
“Now there’s four months left and I, you know, the shows are fun to do, but what I really love is the people I do it with.”
He added that he is “not thrilled with it” and hinted at future projects with his production team following the program’s termination.
CBS initially announced in July that “The Late Show,” which debuted with David Letterman in 1993, would cease production after the 2025-2026 broadcast schedule.
Colbert assumed hosting duties from Letterman in 2015.
“You can do comedy in a lot of different places. There’s no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater, but it’s really the people. Thats what I care about, that’s really what I’m going to miss more than anything,” Colbert said.
The network characterized the cancellation as a “financial decision,” citing substantial annual losses under Colbert’s leadership.
“Colbert loses $40 million to $50 million a year, so (co-CEO) George Cheeks just decided to pull the plug,” an unnamed source revealed to the New York Post.
Despite the financial hemorrhaging, “The Late Show” maintained its position atop late-night ratings in the fourth quarter, attracting 2.69 million total viewers across 37 episodes, according to The Late Nighter.
The program continued to lead all late-night broadcasts in total viewership, surpassing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” even as it experienced a 5 percent viewership decline from the third quarter.
Following news of its cancellation, the program received recognition at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Talk Series—Colbert’s first Emmy victory as host of “The Late Show.”
However, the program faced challenges in the critical 25- to 54-year-old demographic, the Post previously reported, with projections indicating record-low January viewership of just 285,000 viewers per episode in that age group.
Colbert and fellow liberal comedians directed criticism toward President Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr after CBS reached a $16 million settlement with the president over allegedly deceptive editing of a “60 Minutes” interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The host portrayed himself as a defender of free expression and promised intensified criticism of Trump during his remaining broadcasts.
“They made one mistake, they left me alive. For the next 10 months, the gloves are off,” he declared to his audience in July.
On January 22, Colbert accused the FCC under Carr’s leadership of attempting to suppress him, Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel after the agency issued new guidance regarding political candidate appearances on network programming.
“The FCC is announcing plans to enforce long-dormant rules on appearances by political candidates on network talk shows. Oh, no. They’ve awakened the long-dormant rules, not seen since the mind-bending horrors of the pre-Euclidean variety show Cthulhu Tonight,” Colbert said.
He asserted the FCC’s new guidance is “clearly an attempt to silence me, Jimmy and Seth,” before addressing the agency directly through the camera.
“Hey, I’m flattered you think that appearing on my show has the power to affect politics in any way, OK? I’ve been doing this job for 21 years, and let me tell you something, buddy. If our government had turned out the way I had chosen, you would not have the power to make this announcement,” he stated.
WATCH:
Data from media watchdog NewsBusters revealed that between 2022 and 2025, “The Late Show” featured over 176 left-leaning guests compared to a single Republican guest.
“Colbert’s show has been late-night group therapy for liberals,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck stated. “Americans have continually shown they no longer have the time or patience for such partisan sneering masquerading as comedy.”
