CBS staff in turmoil over ‘Trump shakedown’ after Stephen Colbert and The Late Show are canceled
CBS staffers aren’t buying the network’s claims that the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s top-rated, late-night show was purely a “financial decision,” but rather a continuation of the “Trump shakedown” that began with parent company Paramount’s settlement of the 60 Minutes lawsuit, according to multiple sources.
Despite The Late Show averaging 2.4 million total viewers on a nightly basis and handily beating rival networks’ late-night competition, Paramount and CBS executives announced in a joint statement Thursday that Colbert’s long-running program would come to an end next year.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time,” the announcement – signed by Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios president David Stapf – noted.
“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.”
Calling it an “agonizing decision,” the executives added: “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.”
The news dropped like a lead balloon for fans, who immediately groaned and booed when Colbert revealed on his show Thursday night that he would be wrapping up for good next May. “I share your feelings,” he said to the disappointed studio audience.
While the corporate bosses insist the decision was merely due to late-night television becoming unprofitable because of dwindling ad revenues and high production costs, it cannot be ignored that it comes amid Paramount’s pending $8.4 billion merger with Skydance, the media and film production giant, which requires approval from the Trump administration.
Additionally, Colbert has been highly critical of Paramount’s settlement with Trump, agreeing with lawmakers and journalism groups that the $16 million payment to the president to drop a lawsuit that legal experts said was “frivolous” and akin to bribery.
“While I was on vacation, my parent corporation, Paramount, paid Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit,” Colbert said Monday after returning from a multi-week break.
“As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended. And I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company, but just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help,” he quipped, adding that the “technical name in legal circles” for the settlement is “a big, fat bribe.”
Several network sources told The Independent that while they understand that Colbert’s program had become costly to run over the years, and was potentially a drain on the network’s bottom line, many people working at CBS don’t fully believe the narrative coming from upper brass about the cancellation.
One senior staffer at CBS, for instance, said that no one at the network “is buying that it’s a financial decision,” adding that the demise of the CBS flagship left “everyone stunned,” including “famous comedians” that the source said they knew.
Indeed, responding to the news that his late-night rival would soon be out of a job, ABC star Jimmy Kimmel posted on Instagram: “Love you, Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons, CBS.”
Another network staffer said they were told the show had been “on the chopping block” for a few years because it was “very expensive to produce.” At the same time, though, this insider said that they didn’t believe this was the reason behind the sudden announcement on Thursday.
