Chicago – July 18, 2025
Following 10 years as host of The Late Show, the comedian revealed the long-running late night franchise—which began with David Letterman in 1993—is ending after 33 years.
“It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS,” Colbert told his audience in a clip shared to his Instagram July 17. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
While lamenting the network’s decision to sunset the franchise—which he explained he had only learned about the day before—the 61-year-old thanked his loyal audience and crew.
“I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us,” Colbert continued. “I’m grateful to share the stage with this band, these artists over here every night. And I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years.”
And with his signature wit, Colbert alluded to the show’s May 2026 end with optimism, adding, “It’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months. It’s gonna be fun.”
