CBS will end "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and retire "The Late Show" franchise in May 2026, the company announced Thursday.

John Oliver has weighed in on CBS' cancellation of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," calling it "terrible news for the world of comedy."

In a surprise move, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is ending in May 2026. Colbert took over The Late Show in 2015 after David Letterman, who launched the show in 1993. Before that, Colbert hosted

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.

CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years.