Stephen Colbert’s show was losing its parent company CBS a staggering $40 million every year before its cancellation.
Yesterday evening, the network confirmed that it was cancelling the show for financial reasons after over a decade on air.
Meanwhile, a report from Puck News has now shed light on the extent of those losses and also Colbert’s reaction to his cancellation:
Today’s announcement that CBS will end Late Show With Stephen Colbert at the end of the 2026 season came as a shock to you, me, and those who’ve worked on the program for years. Paramount co-C.E.O. George Cheeks pulled the trigger on this one, though sources tell me CBS executives have been discussing the future of the Late Show franchise for months.
The Colbert team was notified around July Fourth that the show was in jeopardy, and Colbert himself was told of the final decision last night. CBS did not plan to announce the move so soon, per sources, but Colbert decided that to avoid leaks, he wanted to reveal it this afternoon to his staff and discuss it on his show tonight, which he did.
You can tell from the clips he’s still kinda in shock, and backstage, I’m told he was resolute and matter-of-fact with his top staff, thanking them and “not angry, actually,” per one source in the Ed Sullivan Theater.
For those keeping track of Paramount merger politics, Cheeks did not consult Ellison, JeffShell, or the incoming Skydance team in advance. Canceling a money-losing program does not rise to the level of a “material decision” that must be run by the new regime, and Late Show has been losing more than $40 million a year for CBS (though that doesn’t include some ancillary revenue).
Colbert is one of the many late-night comedians who has never made any secret of his strong allegiance to the Democratic Party and dedicates most of his show to mocking President Trump and the MAGA movement.
President Trump weighed in on Friday over Colbert getting the axe.
“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote.
Trump went on to predict who would be the next late-night show host to lose their job and then hailed the ONLY one with a sense of humor: Greg Gutfeld.”
“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” he continued. “Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
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