<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a shocking move, CBS is ending </span><em><span>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert </span></em><span>next year, potentially exiting the late-night television business altogether.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The cancellation will take effect in May 2026, the normal end of the broadcast TV season, the network said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The show airs in Australia on Network Ten at midnight.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-diagnosed-with-chronic-venous-insufficiency/0b3c5e8c-7e0f-4b0a-bd79-805bbe347806" target="_blank"><strong><span>Donald Trump diagnosed with 'benign' chronic venous insufficiency, White House reveals</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The move is particularly surprising because </span><em><span>The Late Show</span></em><span> is typically the highest-rated show in late-night.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And the timing is bound to raise questions because it comes just two weeks after the parent company of CBS, Paramount, settled a lawsuit lodged by President Donald Trump against CBS News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The settlement – and Paramount's pending merger with Skydance Media – spurred speculation about Colbert's future at CBS.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-cancelled-in-shock-decision-from-network/7b4bf8e6-1a16-4ffb-b1d8-a9836f9a7864" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert, after all, is one of the staunchest critics of Trump on television.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert alluded to the online worrying about his fate when he returned from vacation on Monday night.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/continuous-glucose-monitor-subsidy-type-2-diabetes-exclusive/6ef11a04-9a0f-4e1a-bf88-fefb90101259" target="_blank"><strong><span>Dyan is forced to choose between her health and paying rent</span></strong></a></div></div><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5), 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px auto;max-width:440px;padding:0;width:99.375%"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMOhWKsxT_G/"></a></blockquote></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He condemned the Paramount settlement on air, likening it to a "big fat bribe," and he joked that his new moustache would protect him from the corporation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Okay, okay, but how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert… if they can't find him?"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CBS, however, said in a statement that "this is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert shared the news at his show taping today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/britain-will-lower-its-voting-age-to-16-in-bid-to-strengthen-democracy/d2ecb200-b2ae-4f0c-95e6-f8bd68cc1663" target="_blank"><strong><span>Britain will lower its voting age to 16 in bid to strengthen democracy</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Next year will be our last season," Colbert said as audible boos were heard in the studio audience.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The network will be ending our show in May," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's the end of </span><em><span>The Late Show</span></em><span> on CBS," he added, going on to say, "This is all just going away."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert said he found out about the network's decision "last night".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners," Colbert said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm so grateful to the Tiffany network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And of course, I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here, out there, all around the world."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert, who took the reins from David Letterman in 2015, said, "I wish somebody else was getting it" after him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The network ended James Corden's </span><em><span>Late Late Show </span></em><span>in 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time, executives said that 12.35am show had become unprofitable for CBS.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Colbert helped produce a replacement show, </span><em><span>After Midnight</span></em><span>, that ended earlier this year.</span></div></div>