CBS announces sudden end to 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'

It’s the end of an era in late night TV.

CBS has announced that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will be done at the end of the next TV season.

“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise” in May of 2026,” CBS executives said in a statement to Variety. “We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.

As for why Colbert’s getting the axe, the statement read, “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, is in the process of a merger with Skydance Media.

Colbert took over “The Late Show” hosting gig in 2014 after David Letterman retired from the position.

He addressed the audience at Thursday’s taping in a clip shared to their social media.

"Before we start the show, I want to let you know something I found out just last night," he said. "Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending 'The Late Show' in May."

He continued, "It's not just the end of our show, it's the end of 'The Late Show' on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I'm so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night."