NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show”, long a staple of late night United States television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said Thursday, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as “a big fat bribe”.

CBS said in a statement the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” and was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at (parent company) Paramount.”

“Next year will be our last season,” the host announced on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Thursday to boos and shouts of disbelief. “The network will be ending the show in May (2026).”

Paramount, CBS’s parent company, reached its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump this month in a lawsuit the entertainment giant described as meritless.

Trump had sued Paramount for $20 billion last year, alleging that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor.

The company is seeking to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs federal government approval.

Colbert said on Thursday the cancellation was not just the end of his show but the end of decades-old “The Late Show” franchise, which has been broadcast continuously on CBS since 1993.

“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” he said.

‘America deserves better’

Trump’s political opponents and other critics drew attention to the timing of the decision.

“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on social media platform X.

“America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons,” Warren said.

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who was on Colbert’s show the night he announced it would be ending, said: “If Paramount and CBS ended the ‘Late Show’ for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who has his own late night program “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for ABC, was among the celebrities that condemned CBS’s decision. “Love you Stephen.”

CBS said in its Thursday statement it was “proud that Stephen called CBS home.”

“He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television,” its statement said.

Colbert, one of the most popular American comedians who made use of humor in his incisive political commentatary, succeeded David Letterman as the host of “The Late Show” in 2015.

Before that Colbert was a regular on Comedy Central alongside fellow talk show host and political pundit Jon Stewart.

The late-night television landscape has long been dominated by satirical comedy shows that blend entertainment with political commentary.

For decades, programmes such as “The Late Show”, “The Tonight Show,” and “Late Night” have served as television touchstones, with hosts like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and more recently Colbert and Jimmy Fallon shaping public discourse through humour and celebrity interviews.