CBS will end 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' next year

Stephen Colbert at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on April 21, 2024. Kevin Winter/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

While taping his Thursday show, host Stephen Colbert made the surprising announcement that CBS is ending his late night show in May.

The live audience at New York's Ed Sullivan Theater booed when he delivered the news that this would be the show's final season.

"Yeah, I share your feelings," he told the audience. "It's not just the end our our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."

Colbert has hosted the top-rated show since 2015, taking over for David Letterman.

The news comes just days after Colbert criticized CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, for paying $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom Colbert regularly skewers in his monologues. Trump claimed the network interfered in the 2024 election by editing a 60 Minutes interview with his opponent, Kamala Harris.

The decision to shutter Late Night With Stephen Colbert also comes as Paramount Global seeks Federal Communications Commission approval to merge with Skydance Media, a $8.4 billion agreement.

In a statement, the network said ending the show was a financial decision, "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

But fans are skeptical. California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who was a guest on Thursday's show, called for more transparency over the decision. "If Paramount and CBS ended The Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know," he posted on X. " And deserves better."

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others on social media also weighed in, expressing skepticism about the timing of the decision to end the show.