Colbert signs off Thursday as CBS ends the long-running “Late Show” franchise and hands the time slot to syndicated programming.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is heading into its final episode Thursday evening, marking the end of Colbert’s decade-long run as host and the close of CBS’ long-running late-night franchise.
The show’s finale marks the end of a program that launched in 1993 with David Letterman before Colbert took over in 2015.
CBS executives announced earlier this year that the network would retire “The Late Show” franchise entirely rather than replace Colbert with another host.
Why is Colbert ending?
Colbert announced during a taping last July that CBS planned to end the show in May 2026.
“Next year will be our last season. Network will be ending The Late Show in May,” Colbert told the audience at the time.
Network executives said the decision was financial and unrelated to the show’s content or performance.
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time,” CBS executives George Cheeks, Amy Reisenbach and David Stapf said in a statement.
What will replace ‘The Late Show ‘?
CBS will not launch another version of “The Late Show” after Colbert signs off.
Instead, the network plans to air Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” in the 11:35 p.m. Eastern time slot.
The roundtable-style comedy talk show has featured comedians including Sebastian Maniscalco, Tiffany Haddish, Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric the Entertainer and Nate Bargatze. It has been in first-run syndication since its premiere in September 2006 for 20 consecutive seasons.
The 12:35 a.m. slot will be filled by “Funny You Should Ask,” a syndicated game show created by Allen and hosted by Jon Kelley.
Allen’s programs tend to avoid political humor and are designed for repeat airings — some “Comics Unleashed” episodes that have aired on CBS are more than 10 years old, according to the Los Angeles Times.
How to watch the final show
The final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs Thursday on CBS at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time. As of Thursday morning, CBS had not announced guests for the finale episode itself.
Guests featured during the show’s final week included Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen.