CBS ends – CBS says Stephen Colbert’s long-running late-night show will end on May 21, 2026, framing the decision as purely financial amid changing advertising economics. The network also plans to replace his time slot with Byron Allen in a buy-time agreement.
Stephen Colbert has been on air for more than a decade, but CBS has now put a hard stop on his late-night reign. The network confirmed that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end on May 21, 2026—an ending CBS says comes from money, not ratings or content.
CBS announced the franchise would end in May 2026 just weeks after Colbert won another Emmy for Outstanding Variety Talk Series. With the show’s conclusion locked in, CBS said comedian Byron Allen will replace Colbert’s time slot through a buy-time agreement.
This is not a soft transition or a gradual reshaping. CBS is canceling the franchise altogether after more than three decades on the air. Colbert took over the show in 2015, when it previously had been hosted by David Letterman.
The explanation CBS gave is blunt. In a statement released on July 17. 2025. CBS executives said they would retire The Late Show franchise in May 2026 and called Colbert “irreplaceable.” They said the network is proud that Stephen Colbert “called CBS home. ” adding that Colbert and the broadcast will be remembered among the “greats that graced late-night television.”.
They also insisted the decision is “purely a financial decision” tied to what CBS described as a challenging backdrop in late night. CBS executives said it was not related to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.
One business timeline sits behind that reasoning. CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, is expected to close its merger with Skydance Media this year.
CBS’s financial message has met resistance, including from Colbert himself. Paramount Global TV Media Chairman George Cheeks later reiterated the network’s position during an August 2025 press conference. saying the advertising marketplace in late night is in “significant secular decline.” He said CBS is a “huge fan” of Colbert and the show. but that “the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”.
At the end of 2025, the financial justification faced fresh attention when Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison announced a hostile takeover of Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Colbert, meanwhile, is not leaving on his own terms. He did not voluntarily step away from The Late Show. CBS told him about the decision on July 16, 2025, and he informed the audience at the next episode’s taping.
Even the numbers around Colbert’s deal underline how big the stakes are for a network that says economics forced the move. He is reported to have made a salary of around $15 million per year with CBS while hosting The Late Show.
The CBS framing is consistent: the show’s end is a monetary decision, not a creative judgment. But with the franchise ending outright. Colbert being told the plan on July 16. 2025. and a new buy-time arrangement bringing Byron Allen into the slot. the shift lands as a dramatic break in a format that has long felt permanent.
Stephen Colbert The Late Show CBS Byron Allen May 21 2026 late-night television Paramount Global Skydance Media George Cheeks David Ellison buy-time agreement Emmy