CBS will end "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and retire "The Late Show" franchise in May 2026, the company announced Thursday, calling it "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.

“Given Paramount’s recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show’s cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval,” it noted (see full statement below).

Colbert’s cancellation came days after he mocked Paramount, which owns CBS, for its $16 million settlement with Trump in a lawsuit many considered meritless. That settlement comes as Paramount attempts a merger with Skydance Media, which requires FCC approval to proceed.

This is all just going away,” host Stephen Colbert said while taping his Thursday show.