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CBS has cancelled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/a><\/em>. Colbert announced the news\u2014which has since been confirmed by Deadline<\/em><\/a> and Variety<\/em><\/a>\u2014directly to his studio audience during the taping of tonight\u2019s (July 17) episode. \u201cBefore we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show<\/em> in May,\u201d he said in a segment<\/a> that has been posted to both his and the show\u2019s official Instagram accounts. Watch Colbert\u2019s full message below.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/em> will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire the Late Show<\/em> franchise at that time,\u201d reads a statement shared with several media outlets, including The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, and credited to CBS executives including CBS president and CEO and Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks. The network further explains the cancellation as \u201cpurely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.\u201d<\/p>\n The Late Show<\/em>\u2019s inception came in 1993, when David Letterman was passed over in favor of Jay Leno to succeed Johnny Carson as host of NBC\u2019s The Tonight Show<\/em>. Letterman\u2019s 22-year tenure yielded some of late-night TV\u2019s most enduring musical moments. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2002, longtime friend Warren Zevon<\/a> gave his final live performance on Letterman<\/em>, where he played \u201cRoland the Headless Thompson Gunner<\/a>.\u201d And in 2011 and 2014, respectively, TV on the Radio<\/a> and Future Islands<\/a> delivered two definitive blog era relics with their Late Show<\/em> renditions of \u201cWolf Like Me<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSeasons (Waiting on You)<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert assumed the Late Show<\/em> mantle from Letterman in 2015. Under his tenure, the Ed Sullivan Theater played host to a wide range of pop stars, up-and-coming indie acts, and established legends, among them\u2014in the last two years alone\u2014Model\/Actriz<\/a>, Wednesday<\/a>, Pavement<\/a>, Father John Misty<\/a>, Arooj Aftab<\/a>, Kacey Musgraves<\/a>, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy<\/a>, Bikini Kill<\/a>, Jessica Pratt<\/a>, Billie Eilish<\/a>, Tyla<\/a>, Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman<\/a>, De La Soul<\/a>, and Andr\u00e9 3000<\/a>. Jon Batiste<\/a> also served as Colbert\u2019s bandleader until his departure<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n