# CBS is ending ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ next year (May 21, 2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 17, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000 "2025-07-17T23:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/41 "2025-07-18T11:08:58Z")
Man, I miss the days of Johnny Carson. mmm ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/42 "2025-07-18T11:18:25Z")
Jimmy Kimmel, also a vocal critic of Trump, his comments possibly even more barbed than Colbert’s, just stated on Instagram: “Love you Stephen. Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.” I wonder if Kimmel is next in the crosshairs of mein orange Führer. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/43 "2025-07-18T11:34:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve been watching Colbert’s show since he took it over from David Letterman, and it seemed to me that, initially, he struggled with finding his voice on the show, and the direction he wanted to take it. As Trump’s candidacy in 2016 took off, Colbert made the show increasingly political (and regularly mocked Trump), which did help his ratings, at least in the short term, but also likely turned off some viewers Colbert had just come off his **Colbert Report** , and before that had been a **Daily Show** correspondent. There’s absolutely no way his show wouldn’t have been political – that’s what he was known for. The only decision I could see was increasing the number and depth of his jokes about Trump. But, given Trump’s position (and the huge number of situations he offered, how could Colbert not have gone after him as a prime target? All this “The Death of Late Night Talk Shows” discussion reminds me of the years I spent in exile in Salt Lake City. For some reason, the SLC ABC affiliate didn’t run **Nightline** , the nightly news show that started in the wake of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, and which ran in the coveted 11:30 time slot until 2012. Things are time-shifted in Salt Lake. There’s a two-hour time difference between the East Coast and Utah, but talk shows aren’t broadcast live, so they can be run right after the local late night news. But Nightline ran live on the East Coast. Nonetheless, they didn’t run it on SLC TV late at night. Having no talk show to run opposite NBC and CBS, they opted to run reruns of _Hogan’s Heroes_ and _Fantasy Island_. I’m still sorry I never got to see the Muppets explaining how Wall Street works on Nightline. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/44 "2025-07-18T12:36:19Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > Colbert and his writers are brilliant, and not just at Trump bashing. His post-monologue segments are amazing, particularly Meanwhile. Stephen, Jimmy, and Jimmy were the canaries in this coal mine of a country. Opposition is being silenced so really bad stuff can be done. Agree with your first statement - we record the show so we can watch the monologue and the “second segment”; maybe stay for the guest if we really care about them. Gonna disagree about Jimmy (not Jimmy - I love him!) Fallon has been a network shill pretty much the entire time he has been on. I’m not a fan of his style of humor, and you see a lot more plugging of network shows / events than you do on other shows. > [@Spoons](#): > > Gonna be some ketchup-stained walls tonight. No, there isn’t. Donald won. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/45 "2025-07-18T12:50:28Z")
That’s what I get for posting after my bedtime. I agree about Fallon. One of the Jimmys should have been Seth. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/46 "2025-07-18T12:56:24Z")
That actually made me laugh out loud. As Chuck Todd said of the CBS lawsuit, giving in to Trump isn’t going to bring the Trump base back to the legacy media, it’s only going to turn off those who haven’t already left. And I think Todd is 100% right. Odd that they can’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/47 "2025-07-18T13:00:19Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Fallon has been a network shill pretty much the entire time he has been on. I’m not a fan of his style of humor, and you see a lot more plugging of network shows / events than you do on other shows. I don’t mind that _The Tonight Show_ is mostly apolitical. It’s always been set up that way. Carson would make news of the day jokes about the president but never hit one side or the other particularly hard. Certainly not like Colbert, Kimmel or Meyers. And that’s ok. There is room for light entertainment for those who want it. I just wish Fallon was better at it. As soon as I see his fake over the top laugh reaction I have to change the channel. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/48 "2025-07-18T13:00:27Z")
I’ll miss the show. I have come to enjoy him. I don’t like this trend. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/49 "2025-07-18T13:04:40Z")
It’s always time for Matlock! Unless Murder, She Wrote is on. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/50 "2025-07-18T13:22:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I wonder if Kimmel is next in the crosshairs of mein orange Führer. ABC isn’t in the middle of a merger that has to be approved by Trump’s FCC. CBS is. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Jimmy Kimmel, also a vocal critic of Trump, his comments possibly even more barbed than Colbert’s, just stated on Instagram: “Love you Stephen. Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.” Kimmel has been on vacation and using guest hosts. Hence only the short comment on social media. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about it when he’s back on the air. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/51 "2025-07-18T13:50:10Z")
This is in P&E so of course most of the discussion will be political but there is a CS component as well. I have no doubt the timing is suspicious due to the CBS merger. There is certainly a financial component. Talk shows are the number one form of visual entertainment right now. They just call them podcasts. Anyone with an iPhone and a tripod can do one. A truly professional looking podcast uses equipment that costs thousands instead of millions for a TV show. It’s hard to get numbers that are accurate across all platforms but it looks like Conan gets 13 million downloads a month. Call Her Daddy has something like 5 million viewers per episode. Rogan is in the millions. Smartless is something like a million an episode. There are dozens and dozens more of varying popularity and you can watch them whenever you want. Colbert gets about 2 million viewers a night, mostly in the older demographic. He mentioned yesterday that over 100 people work on the show. Including the Ed Sullivan Theater that’s a lot of overhead. CBS will probably make as much money or more in that time slot running NCIS reruns. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/52 "2025-07-18T13:50:49Z")
CBS / Paramount execs are appeasing lickspittle cowards. It’ll be interesting to see if the other networks hold firm or follow suit like dominoes - are all the networks appease in a pod? > [@Loach](#): > > Kimmel has been on vacation and using guest hosts. Hence only the short comment on social media. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about it when he’s back on the air. Kimmel’s reaction to this will be especially interesting. He’s been as blistering a critic of trumpism as Colbert, and I think his gags are better than Colbert’s. But he’s been on the verge of burnout for years, and has talked about how he’s almost quit the gig in the recent past. As it stands now he’s taken the entire Summer off for several years now, and during the rest of the season he takes very liberal vacation days off. Talk about unlimited PTO! Will these developments give him the final impetus to give it up, or will he be inspired to keep fighting the good fight (provided ABC continues to allow it)? Kimmel started the show immediately after trump won the '24 election with a skit in which he was packing up his stuff in boxes, getting ready to flee the country. Sidekick Guillermo comes in his office and gives him a rousing speech about how he needs to stay and be the resistance, and Kimmel says “you’re right! Let’s resist this new administration together!” Guillermo: “hell no Jimmy, I’m out of here!”. That skit may come to be prophetic… ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/53 "2025-07-18T14:12:11Z")
Kimmel is ABC and ABC is Disney. If Disney caves then Trump has indisputably won the culture war. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/54 "2025-07-18T14:17:13Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Kimmel and Colbert both hit Trump constantly. And so do Fallon & Meyers. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/55 "2025-07-18T14:19:33Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Kimmel is ABC and ABC is Disney. If Disney caves then Trump has indisputably won the culture war. Gutfeld has double the number of viewers that Kimmel has 3 million vs 1.5 million. And the numbers on the networks show have been dropping. Maybe it’s already lost. If Kimmel is still around next year we will see if former Colbert numbers will pump up his numbers. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/56 "2025-07-18T14:20:54Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > And so do Fallon & Meyers As has been mentioned, Fallon’s political humor is pro forma and completely toothless. If any late-night host survives the trumpian culture wars, it’ll be Vichy Fallon. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/57 "2025-07-18T14:22:21Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Kimmel and Colbert both hit Trump constantly. > > And so do Fallon & Meyers. Mostly mild don’t want to offend anyone jabs from Fallon. On the level of what he would do for any president. Not nearly on the same level of the other shows. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/58 "2025-07-18T14:24:13Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wnGUzdeHrx0/maxresdefault.jpg "Jimmy Fallon messed up Trumps hair 💀🤯 #viralshort #shorts #trump #viral #jimmyfallon #usa #mindset") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnGUzdeHrx0) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/59 "2025-07-18T14:25:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > > > And so do Fallon & Meyers > > As has been mentioned, Fallon’s political humor is pro forma and completely toothless. If any late-night host survives the trumpian culture wars, it’ll be Vichy Fallon. Except for the fact that he has the lowest ratings of the three 11:30 talk shows. NBC wants the tradition of The Tonight Show but they can’t be happy about the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000/60 "2025-07-18T14:30:49Z")
Oh, I didn’t know that. I thought Fallon did pretty good in the ratings, _because_ his humor is so milquetoast and aimed at the lowest common denominator. Well, in that case, maybe he’ll be replaced with someone as toothless in their political humor, but actually funny. Or, if the Tonight Show is the last late-night show left, maybe it won’t really matter who’s host, as long as they toe the party line and don’t speak truth to power. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-is-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-next-year-may-21-2026/1021000.md?page=4)