The summer of 2025 became a nightmare for late-night television hosts. CBS made the shocking decision to cancel Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show. Next was ABC; it suspended Jimmy Kimmel over a Charlie Kirk-related “MAGA” comment. With fictional series like HBO’s Hacks showcasing the pressures of the late-night comedy world, viewers are asking if the long-running staple might be dying in reality. After all, streaming shows and social media have become the norm, so cable networks may be tightening their wallets.
CBS announced in July 2025 that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. Network executives cited finances as the reason behind the cancelation.
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise in May of 2026,” CBS said in a statement. “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. 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.”
Not a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel, but if you think his show should be canceled for this, you’re a hack and a total fraud who should never pretend to care about free speech pic.twitter.com/FSiktbva6y
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 17, 2025
Two months later, Colbert and his staff took home the Emmy Award for best talk series.
An ABC spokesperson revealed in a brief statement that Jimmy Kimmel Live! “will be pre-empted indefinitely.” The announcement came shortly after the comedian said, “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
In response to Kimmel’s comment, Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, criticized Kimmel on Benny Johnson’s show and threatened to “do this the easy way or the hard way,” according to multiple outlets.
