After 10 years at the helm and 32 years as a staple of American late-night television, *The Late Show* with host Stephen Colbert will air its final episode Thursday night, capping a bitter cancellation that has sparked debate over network influence, political pressure and the future of free expression in entertainment. CBS, the network that originated the long-running show, has repeatedly maintained that the decision to pull the program — which currently leads all competitors in its time slot in ratings — was driven exclusively by financial considerations, and that any political overlap was pure coincidence.
The cancellation followed a high-profile public rebuke from Colbert, who slammed CBS for a $16 million settlement with former President and current U.S. leader Donald Trump. The settlement stemmed from claims that the network had “maliciously” edited an interview with Trump’s 2024 Democratic election rival Kamala Harris, with Colbert labeling the payout a “big fat bribe.” Critics have also linked the network’s move to ongoing efforts by CBS parent company Paramount to secure federal regulatory approval for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, a deal that requires sign-off from the Trump administration. In the months leading up to the cancellation, Paramount appointed right-wing journalist Bari Weiss — who has no significant prior leadership experience in television news — to head the network’s news division, a move widely interpreted as an outreach to the conservative White House.
The 62-year-old host, who took over *The Late Show* from predecessor David Letterman in 2015, has admitted the impending end of the show has weighed on him in recent weeks, with observers noting a more subdued tone compared to his usual sharp, cheerful wit. Last year, Colbert presciently noted in an Emmy acceptance speech, “Sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it.” A touching moment came during the penultimate episode, when Colbert was joined by nearly all of his fellow late-night hosts — including Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver — for a collective tribute that underscored the solidarity of the comedy community in the face of mounting political pressure on critical media.
That pressure is not theoretical: Kimmel, the ABC late-night host, was pulled off the air for a brief suspension in September 2025 after complaints from conservative groups over a comment he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Since returning to the presidency, Trump has waged a sustained campaign against independent media and press freedom, using regulatory threats and costly lawsuits to retaliate against outlets and personalities that publish unflattering coverage or satirical jokes about him. Trump has been a particularly vocal critic of left-leaning late-night hosts, who regularly target him with on-air jabs, and has previously called Colbert a “pathetic trainwreck” who should be “put to sleep.”
Not all conservative-aligned late-night personalities have expressed sympathy for Colbert. Greg Gutfeld, host of the Fox News late-night show *Gutfeld!*, which draws a large conservative audience, responded to news of both Colbert’s cancellation and Kimmel’s suspension in November by asking, “Why did it take so long?”
Colbert first rose to national fame as a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s *The Daily Show*, where he created his iconic satirical persona: a deadpan, over-the-top conservative blowhard modeled after the loud talking heads popular on right-wing cable news. The persona spawned his own hit spin-off, *The Colbert Report*, before he was tapped to take over CBS’s flagship late-night franchise, where he dropped the character to lean into his own authentic voice as a host and comedian.
In the lead-up to Thursday’s finale, Colbert has auctioned off dozens of iconic props, costumes, and set pieces from the show’s 10-year run — including the show’s giant illuminated logo — with 100% of proceeds going to disaster relief and food security non-profit World Central Kitchen. While Colbert has remained tight-lipped about his long-term career plans, he has confirmed he will serve as a writer on an upcoming *Lord of the Rings* feature film, and says he plans to take an extended break after the finale ends.
Details of the final episode have been kept tightly under wraps by production staff, who declined to comment to AFP. One long-held dream for Colbert, a devout Catholic, remains unfulfilled: he has never secured an interview with the pope, whom he has long called his “white whale.” While Pope Leo XIV has an open public schedule on the date of the finale, an unplanned surprise appearance in New York is seen as extremely unlikely.
In a show of solidarity, all of Colbert’s fellow late-night hosts are scheduled to air reruns on Thursday, clearing the airwaves for his swansong. The after-party, fittingly for Colbert’s characteristic mix of sharp wit and good humor, is themed “Fired and festive!” Earlier this week, Colbert welcomed his predecessor David Letterman, who hosted *The Late Show* from its launch in 1993 until Colbert took over in 2015. The pair climbed to the roof of the show’s iconic Ed Sullivan Theater home to throw old furniture at a giant CBS logo, calling the stunt “wanton destruction of CBS property.” As Letterman put it, summing up the moment: “You can take a man’s show. You can’t take a man’s voice.”