On Thursday night, “The Late Show” hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert on CBS came to an end. Last jokes before lights out. Thursday night marked the end of The Late Show hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert on CBS, a fierce critic of Donald Trump, in a new chapter of the American president’s crusade against dissenting voices in the media.
The announcement of the end of this 33-year-old late-night show came in August, after the comedian referred to a $16 million deal with Donald Trump as a “big bribe” by Paramount, the parent company of the network, following a controversy over the editing of an interview with his former presidential rival, Kamala Harris.
CBS emphasized that the decision to cancel The Late Show – a ratings leader in its timeslot – was purely financial and not related to Paramount’s efforts to obtain government approval for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.
However, many voices, starting with the 62-year-old host, saw the hand of the American president in the decision, openly at war with the media he considers to be hostile.
Several times, the president had claimed that CBS was “out of control,” calling Stephen Colbert a “pathetic wreck” who needed to be “taken off the air.”
Since then, a right-leaning opinion journalist, Bari Weiss, has been appointed to head CBS News, where she has begun restructuring the teams.
Support from Kimmel and Fallon Like his counterparts on other late-night shows, Stephen Colbert is one of the most critical faces of the American president, launching direct attacks on the air.
In the weeks leading up to the final show, several prestigious guests appeared on his show, including former President Barack Obama, actor Tom Hanks, and host Oprah Winfrey.
He was notably moved last week when his colleagues and competitors from other networks – Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon – came on the show to pay tribute to him and show their support.
Jimmy Kimmel himself was briefly pulled from the air by his network ABC in September 2025 following Republican backlash over a remark he made about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
After starting in improv theater, Stephen Colbert moved to television in 1995 before joining Jon Stewart’s Daily Show in 1997 as a correspondent, creating his own show, The Colbert Report, in 2005, before taking over the Late Show ten years later.
“An important voice” For the future, Stephen Colbert hinted that he might consider a new show but did not provide specifics.
A big fan of British writer Tolkien’s universe, he also announced that he would co-write a new film based on Lord of the Rings with New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who adapted the trilogy for the big screen.
For the final episode, recorded in the afternoon at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York’s Broadway district, the guest list was kept secret.
Despite the rain outside the building, Tyler Elliott lined up to attend the last show. “The interference of politics in the media is very worrying today, and it is important to have honest people speaking the truth,” he said. He added, “With Colbert, we are definitely losing an important voice.”
On Wednesday for the penultimate show, singer Bruce Springsteen, a vocal critic of Donald Trump, came to show his support for the host.
Last week, Stephen Colbert also welcomed former host and creator of the show, David Letterman, to the show. Playfully, the two men climbed onto the building’s roof to have fun throwing studio furniture onto a large CBS logo on the street.
“You can take a man’s show away,” David Letterman said. But “you can’t take away his voice.”
