The cancellation from CBS comes after Colbert criticized his parent company on-air for their $16 million settlement with Trump.

Top lawmakers were quick to rally around Stephen Colbert following the cancellation of "The Late Show." Why it matters: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused CBS of placating President Trump as its parent company Paramount is closing in on a merger deal.

CBS’ decision to end The Late Show in 2026 has left both Hollywood and viewers in shock. On Thursday, the network announced that it will end its late-night talk show, hosted by Stephen Colbert over the last decade, in May 2026, amid financial issues at the network.

A decision to cancel the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" is prompting members of Congress to speak out, as the timing draws attention to a recent settlement between Paramount Global PARAPARAA and President Donald Trump.

Paramount faces scrutiny for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a suit brought by Trump, amid a merger attempt that requires his administration's blessing.

President Donald Trump weighed in on CBS’s announcement that it is canceling Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show — and the president is hopeful Jimmy Kimmel will be next to get axed. CBS said Thursday that it plans to end “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in May 2026, calling it a “purely a financial decision …

The Late Show, which premiered in August 1993, will end in May 2026, with Stephen Colbert as its last host. The CBS television network first announced the news on Thursday, July 17, 2025.

Our common culture has fallen victim to the digital revolution.

Stephen Colbert riffed Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement of Donald Trump’s lawsuit, calling the payment a “big fat bribe” and joking about the prospects that new owner Skydance will try pressure him to back off from humor directed at the president.