The countdown to the final curtain call of The Late Show has entered its final quarter, and for host Stephen Colbert, the reality is just beginning to set in. In his appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers on January 27th, Colbert, now 61, reflected on the impending end of his late-night talk show, which will air its last episode in May after a decade-long run. "It feels real now," Colbert told Seth Meyers in a clip shared on Instagram ahead of the episode's airing. "It didn't feel... I mean, I knew it was real, but now, with just four months left."
Colbert explained to Meyers that what he truly cherishes about hosting the show is "the people I do it with." He noted that some of his staff members have been with him since the beginning of his career. "Listen, you can do comedy in a lot of different places," Colbert continued, "but there's no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater." He added, "But it's really the people. That's what I care about. That's what I'm going to miss more than anything."
The final episode of The Late Show will air on Thursday, May 21st, according to LateNighter and Deadline, nearly a year after Colbert announced the show's end during a July 17th taping. "Before we start the show, I want you to know something that I found out just last night," Colbert said during his opening monologue. "Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May." He continued, "It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."
CBS's decision to cancel the long-running show came days after Colbert criticized Paramount, the network's parent company, for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump earlier that month. Trump had alleged that the network's 60 Minutes had deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount also needed approval from the Trump-controlled FCC for a merger with Skydance Media, which was approved in August 2025.
"As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended," Colbert said at the time. "And I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help." In a statement from CBS shared with PEOPLE, the network said the decision was "purely financial" and "is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
"Our admiration, affection, and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult," the statement continued. "Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue, and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news, and newsmakers across all areas." The Late Show franchise began in 1993 with David Letterman as host. Colbert, who previously starred in The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, took over after Letterman's retirement in 2015.
