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As you may have heard by now, CBS made the stunning decision late last week to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Here’s the thing, however:
The program will not go off the air until May 2026.
This means that the outspoken and hilarious host now has 10 months with nothing to lose; 10 months’ worth of new episodes during which he can blast the company that made this decision, along with the person many believe is truly responsible for it:
President Donald Trump.
It’s a long, winding, complicated and disturbing story, but: CBS is owned by Paramount, which needs the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission to approve its $8 billion sale to Skydance.
Earlier this summer, Paramount agreed to pay the President $16 million to settle a ridiculous lawsuit in which he accused 60 Minutes of election interference in 2024 due to the way it edited an interview with Kamala Harris.
Some folks out there believe Trump also pressured Paramount to fire Colbert as part of this deal… because Colbert just referred last week to this settlement as a “big fat bribe” and has openly been VERY critical of the two-time Commander-in-Chief.
There. So now you’re caught up.
This brings us to Monday’s episode of The Late Show.
First, during his monologue, Colbert accused CBS of leaking financial figures to the press, alleging his show was losing upward of $40 million a year as a justification for ending the franchise.
Colbert quipped $40 million “is a big number” and then added:
“I could see us losing $24 million. But where could Paramount possibly have spent the other $16 million … oh wait.”
Colbert also noted how Trump celebrated his cancellation in a Truth Social post, with the President writing he “loves” the fact the host his nemesis got axed and saying he has no talent.
“How dare you, sir,” Colbert replied on air. “Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism: ‘Go f‑ck yourself.’”
Seriously, folks. Buckle up. We can only imagine what the next 10 months will bring us from Stephen Colbert, who said yesterday that the “gloves are off” at this point.
Several days ago, Colbert was the first person to address the future of his talk show.
“Before we start the show I want to let you know something that I found out just last night,” he said at the time. “Next year will be our last season, the network [CBS] will be ending The Late Show in May…
“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away. I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners … And I’m grateful to the audience, you, who have joined us every night, in here, out there, and all around the world.”
In a gesture of solidarity on Monday night, meanwhile Colbert’s fellow late night show hosts — Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver, Late Night’s Seth Meyers and the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart — all showed up for a joke in Monday night’s episode.
They were joined by other entertainers and journalists including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Weird Al Yankovic, Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper, Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald.
