A marquee featuring "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is seen outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, where Colbert's show is produced, in New York City on July 18, 2025. Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show", long a staple of late night US television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said on July 17, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as "a big fat bribe." CBS said in a statement the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," and was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at (parent company) Paramount." (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
MSU Journalism Professor Chris Jennings on the Stephen Colbert cancellation
Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP / Getty Images