"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," Stephen Colbert told viewers last July, as he announced that the long-running program would be cancelled at the end of his contract. The final episode of the network's late-night talk show airs on May 21.
According to CBS, the cancellation was "purely a financial decision."
Even though Colbert recognizes that the economic collapse of traditional broadcast TV models may have contributed to the decision, "there are many people who believe there was another reason," the talk show host noted in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Indeed, the announcement came just days after CBS and Paramount agreed to pay $16 million (€13.6 million) to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump — a settlement Colbert had described in his show as "a big fat bribe."
The settlement and the decision to cancel "The Late Show" also coincided with plans by Paramount — the owner of CBS — to take over movie studio Skydance. The multibillion-dollar merger required the US government's approval.
