Stephen Colbert's Late Show Ends After 11 Years as CBS Retires Franchise

The End of an Era

After an 11-year run, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" airs its final episode on CBS tonight at 11:35 PM ET, marking the end of the legendary Late Show franchise that has been a fixture of the network's lineup for over three decades. CBS has extended the finale beyond its typical hour-long window to give Colbert a proper sendoff. The network announced in July 2025 that it would be retiring the Late Show franchise altogether after 33 years, with the first 22 seasons under David Letterman and the following 11 seasons under Colbert.

The final week has featured a star-studded lineup including appearances by Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, and performances from Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne. Colbert kicked off the show's last four episodes with a "best of the worst of" episode, featuring comedy bits so awful they mostly never aired at all. CBS has kept the details of the final episode under wraps, likely to maintain an element of surprise for the grand finale.

A Controversial Cancellation

Despite being the most-watched late-night show, averaging 2.7 million viewers and maintaining the highest ratings for nine consecutive seasons, CBS made what it called "purely a financial decision" to end the program. The network later reported that the show was losing tens of millions of dollars annually. The announcement came after Colbert openly criticized CBS's parent company, Paramount, for agreeing to pay a $16 million settlement over President Trump's claims about a 60 Minutes interview, with Colbert calling it a "big fat bribe."

The cancellation has drawn controversy due to the show's popularity, its relation to the Skydance-Paramount merger, and perceived political motives related to Colbert's frequent criticisms of the Trump administration. Jon Stewart, Colbert's former boss at The Daily Show, sharply criticized the decision, telling viewers the answer lies in "the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions at this very moment."

A New Chapter for Late Night

Beginning Friday, May 22, Byron Allen's "Comics Unleashed" will take over the 11:35 PM time slot, with Allen's company actually paying CBS for the privilege under a unique time-buy arrangement. Allen Media Group will sell the available ad spots in the two-hour block, likely allowing CBS to turn a profit in late night for the first time in years. Allen specifically chose May 22 as his start date because it marks exactly 34 years since his hero Johnny Carson signed off from The Tonight Show, with Allen having become the youngest comedian to perform on Carson's show at age 18 in 1979.

Allen has described "Comics Unleashed" as his passion project, purposely avoiding topical or political content to keep the program evergreen and maintain advertiser favor. Meanwhile, Colbert has announced he will work on a Lord of the Rings movie alongside his son after the show concludes, noting "I knew I couldn't do that and do this show at the same time, but it turns out I'm going to be free starting this summer." The transition represents not just a changing of the guard, but a fundamental shift in how networks approach late-night programming in an era of declining viewership and rising costs.