When is the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert?

Last year, Stephen Colbert announced that The Late Show had been cancelled by CBS, after 33 years on air, with the final series set to end in 2026.

"I want to let you know something I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May," Colbert, who has hosted the show since 2015 after David Letterman, shared the news with the audience back in July.

In response to the audience booing, the host added, "Yeah! I share your feelings. It's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

Why has the show been cancelled?

According to Paramount, the cancellation was “purely a financial decision", with it being reported that the show was losing at least $40 million per year.

The decision has since prompted backlash as fans highlighted that the decision came days after Colbert criticised his network's $16 million settlement with Donald Trump.

On his show, the 61-year-old has been a vocal critic of CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, over concerns they could be breaking anti-bribery laws by seeking to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump to get his administration's approval for an $8 billion merger with entertainment giant Skydance, which was approved and completed in August.

Although Trump himself took to his platform Truth Social at the time to deny these rumours, "Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true!"

He went on to claim the reason Colbert's show was cancelled was due to "a pure lack of TALENT" and that "this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses".

Meanwhile, the decision has prompted backlash in the entertainment world, and a petition to save the show has reportedly that has received hundreds of thousands of signatures.

When is the final episode?

Back in January, Colbert announced that the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air on May 21.

What will replace the show?

CBS has shared what will replace The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the scheduled programming after the talk show comes to an end next month.

Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen will take over the 11:35 p.m. slot starting May 22, the day after Colbert's last episode.

Following this, Allen’s comedy game show Funny You Should Ask, hosted by Jon Kelley, will fill in the 12:35 a.m. slot.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Colbert accuses CBS of pulling Democratic lawmaker interview, and Stephen Colbert takes swipe at Donald Trump's memory issues.

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