Stephen Colbert's Late Show Finale: End of an Era Amid CBS Shakeup & Late-Night Decline

Stephen Colbert BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Stephen Colbert is finishing July and starting August 2025 at the white-hot center of the late-night TV universe, and it has been a rollercoaster week for the comedian, satirist, and host of The Late Show. The latest headlines swirling around Colbert are all about the impending end of his run at CBS, and the chatter is deafening. According to Poynter and other major outlets, Colbert is officially set to leave CBS as the network hastens sweeping cost cuts, with insiders framing his exit not as an isolated event but as part of the larger death rattle of late-night TV as we know it. The Late Show has reportedly been facing $40 million in annual losses, exacerbated by plunging ad revenue and a digital presence that lags behind rivals. Lainey Gossip reports Colbert’s camp did not get the chance to propose cost-saving measures, and that CBS execs, with their eyes on a complex merger and tense political climate, opted for a discreet sendoff rather than a drawn-out farewell tour.

In what might be considered classic Colbert fashion, he is not letting the speculation about his future slow the pace of his show or dull his satire. On July 30, The Late Show monologue tore into news that Republicans propose renaming the Kennedy Center after Donald Trump, lampooned an executive order about religion in government offices, and dissected stories linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, all while skewering contemporary political absurdity with his trademark wit. Recent shows featured A-lister guests like Liam Neeson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, with more high-profile appearances lined up including Vice President Kamala Harris and Julia Garner according to CBS press releases. His riffing on the record-breaking heatwave in New York, fertility trends, and a bizarre controversy involving Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle all went viral within the fandom and trended on X and Instagram.

Meanwhile, social media continues to buzz with support and speculation; fans and media personalities alike are lamenting the end of an era. While no official announcement from Colbert himself has signaled a next step or major interview about his post-CBS plans, the narrative cast by industry insiders is that his contract was set to end next year, and CBS is using this as a clean break amid a brutal economic environment for television. There is no verified word on new deals or offers from rival networks, and any whispers in that direction remain pure speculation. For now, Stephen Colbert remains a nightly fixture, wielding sharp monologues and crowd-pleasing sketches, but everyone knows these are the final laps for one of the last giants of late-night.

Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stephen Colbert is finishing July and starting August twenty twenty
five at the white hot center of the late night
TV universe, and it has been a roller coaster week
for the comedian, satirist and host of The Late Show.
The latest headlines swirling around Colbert are all about the
impending end of his run at CBS, and the chatter

(00:21):
is deafening. According to Pointer and other major outlets, Colbert
is officially set to leave CBS as the network hastens
sweeping cost cuts, with insiders framing his exit not as
an isolated event but as part of the larger death
rattle of late night TV as we know it. The
Late Show has reportedly been facing forty million dollars in

(00:44):
annual losses, exacerbated by plunging ad revenue and a digital
presence that lags behind rivals. Laney Gossip reports Colbert's camp
did not get the chance to propose cost saving measures,
and that CBS execs, with their eyes on a complex
and tense political climate, opted for a discreet sendoff rather

(01:04):
than a drawn out farewell tour. In what might be
considered classic Colbert fashion. He is not letting the speculation
about his future, slow the pace of his show, or
dull his satire. On July thirtieth, the Late Show monologue
tore into news that Republicans proposed renaming the Kennedy Center
after Donald Trump, lampooned in executive order about religion and

(01:25):
government offices, and dissected stories linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein,
all while skewering contemporary political absurdity with his trademark WIT.
Recent shows featured Alister guests like Liam Neeson, Jamie Lee Curtis,
and Senator Alyssa Slotkin, with more high profile appearances lined
up including Vice President Tamala Harris and Julia Garner. According

(01:47):
to CBS press releases, is riffing on the record breaking
heat wave in New York, fertility trends, and a bizarre
controversy involving Sidney Sweeney, an American eagle. All went viral
within the fandom and trended on exit Instagram. Meanwhile, social
media continues to buzz with support and speculation. Fans and
media personalities alike are lamenting the end of an era,

(02:10):
while no official announcement from Colbert himself has signaled a
next step or major interview about his POSTCBS plans. The
narrative cast by industry insiders is that his contract was
set to end next year and CBS is using this
as a clean break amid a brutal economic environment for television.
There is no verified word on new deals or offers

(02:31):
from rival networks, and any whispers in that direction remain
pure speculation. For now. Stephen Colbert remains a nightly fixture,
wielding sharp monologues and crowd pleasing sketches, but everyone knows
these are the final laps for one of the last
giants of Late Night, and that is it for today.
Make sure you hit the subscribe button and never miss

(02:52):
an update on Stephen Colbert. Thanks for listening. This has
been a quiet please production. For more check out Quiet
Please dot ai or search the term biosnap wherever you listen.