Does the end of Colbert's show in May 2026 relate to the Paramount-Skydance merger? To Colbert's criticism of Donald Trump? To the demise of late night television? Who's to say?

Colbert confirmed the cancellation during a show taping on Thursday. CBS said the move was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."

The news of "The Late Show's" cancellation by CBS doesn't just end a franchise that had, to this point, lasted more than 30 years. It looks like the beginning of the end of an entire category of television.

CBS has axed Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show." Here's a look at how his career in comedy led him from "The Daily Show" to Letterman's old seat.

In a wholesale late-night talk show change, CBS is exiting the space with the cancellation of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, sunsetting the franchise that launched in 1993 with David Letterman as host.

CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years.

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart slammed Paramount for making a deal with Trump, serving notice they won't be silenced by their parent company.

Stephen Colbert riffed Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement of Donald Trump’s lawsuit, calling the payment a “big fat bribe” and joking about the prospects that new owner Skydance will try pressure him to back off from humor directed at the president.