Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
First on LateNighter: Stephen Colbert has set an official end date for his tenure behind the desk.
During a taping of Late Night with Seth Meyers Monday night, Colbert revealed that the series finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air Thursday, May 21.
The announcement puts a firm date on a farewell that has been looming since last summer, when CBS confirmed it would be ending the franchise at the close of the 2025–26 broadcast season. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” the network said at the time.
Colbert later addressed the cancellation directly on his own show, underscoring the finality of the decision. “It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS,” he said. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
The end of Colbert’s run will mark the conclusion of a franchise that has been a cornerstone of late-night television for more than three decades. David Letterman launched the show in 1993 after his high-profile move from NBC, broadcasting from a newly renovated Ed Sullivan Theater. Over more than 4,200 episodes, Letterman’s Late Show became a cultural institution before he signed off in 2015.
Colbert took over that fall, reshaping the program into a more politically engaged show. Across nine seasons, his blend of pointed satire, earnest commentary, and high-profile interviews helped The Late Show dominate late night during a turbulent political era.
With a May 21 series finale now on the calendar, CBS and Colbert have just under four months to bring one of television’s longest-running late-night franchises to a close.
Colbert’s appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers airs Tuesday night.
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