The era of television late at night is currently extinguishing for air, lies in a hospital bed and waiting to die. It may sound dark, but it's no less true. We have learned that recently CBS canceled "Late Show with Steven Colbert" in May 2026. Moreover, Colbert has not just been replaced. Instead, CBS's parent company Paramount simply completes the "late show" franchise, one of the pillars of late night television for more than three decades. That is not only late at the night of life support, but a TV as we knew she was also on her deathbed.

When Colbert took over David Letterman's "Late Show" in 2015It was a very different time. Traditional television still had a lot of importance, with Colbert becoming a starvet of Colbert's "Colbert Report" before winning the high-woven gig of Summermann. Meanwhile, Netflix was, more or less, the only significant streaming service in the city. Then this is now.

In 2025, Netflix generates more income than the entire global treasurer in combination. In addition to Netflix, we have Disney+, Julu, HBO Max, Pacock, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video and a range of other smaller streaming services competing for attention. Elsewhere, big media companies sell TV networks as it comes out of style - namely, because it is Coming out of style, as these former pop culture centers lose relevance/viewership every year. To that end, the directors of the CBS, in a statement, marked this as a purely financial decision, saying the following:

"We think Steven Colbert is irreplaceable and will retire the" Late Show "franchise in May 2026. We are proud that Stephen called on CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of great night televisions. This is a purely financial decision against the challenging background in the late night. Late at night. It is not related to any way of showing the show, or at the other moment.

Dating from the Golden Days of the "Evening Show" when he hosted Nyoni Carson, these plays were pillars of the larger American cultural conversation. Even when Jayei Leno took over, He was followed by "late night with Conan O'Brien". At that time, Ann -BI could easily stand not one, but two main talk show with millions of viewers, as long as Letterman went to CBS.

The fact that CBS will completely cancel "late night", instead of changing creative directions, says. The network alike Earlier the "Late Show" canceled after the Jameseii Corden left In 2023 (instead of finding a new host) and also recently described the comedy program late at night "after midnight", so Colbert is not an isolated case. Indeed, these former pillars of pop culture have been struggling to find relevance in modern, more and more sprayed media landscape for years.

To that end, Ann -Bi took the "Evening Show", now hosting Jimi Fallon, a reduction of five nights a week to four last year to save costs and possibly save the show for a little longer. How long will Shallon last? What about "Jimi Kimmel Live!" over ABC? It is worth noting that Colbert averaged about 2.4 million viewers, while Kimmel gets about 1.7 million and Fallon's trails with only 1.1 million, after Latenighter.com. This is not to say anything about the "Daily Show" or "late night with Seth Meyers".

All of these shows enter the fractions of the audience they once had and, as such, begin to make less and less financial sense for the larger corporations they support. However, with Colbert, time is certainly suspicious. Paramount only barely resolved the lawsuit that President Trump filed through the 2024 interview with then -presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Trump claims the interview is edited in a way to mislead voters, and while Paramount marks the "Wireless" lawsuit (and publicly posted all the shots To support his claim), however, is paid.

Trump, of course, is a loud critic of both Colbert and Kimmel (and vice versa). Meanwhile, Paramount is currently waiting for regulatory approval of its merger with Skydancewhich was first published last year. That's the case, it's hard not to wonder if the "Late Show with Steven Colbert" is in any way politically motivated.

I'm not here to go down in that particular hole for rabbits at this point. In any case, the message is clear: "The Late Show" is wasted. After all, whether the company would cancel Taylor Sheridan's YellowoLLestone Universe If Trump didn't like them?

The fact that Colbert has the best rating on US television late at night and is the first to feel like writing the ID. How likely is Kimmel or Meyers acquire those viewers as soon as Colbert goes? Can NBC and ABC look at what CBS do and think about a similar move? It all feels possible right now. In addition, completing what TV once concerned what was, for better or worse, felt completely inevitable in the light of the "late show".

The broadcasting and cable television view dropped below 50% of total viewership In 2023. Since then it has continued to descend. DirectV also bleed after losing their NHL ticket rights on Sunday, with more and more sporting rights heading for streaming than traditional television. All the time, Netflix continues to dominate the first programming, and even emissions made for networks tend to find their audience on streaming. The collapse of television late at night feels like pulling that key England block near the end of the game, causing the tower to start shaking. It's not over yet, but it will soon be.

The fact is that the relevance and viewership of the late nights are in the fall. Circumstances may feel suspicious; Prepare the whole situation may seem f **** d. However, the unfortunate truth is that it has been in life support for some time. Writing is on the wall, and is now inevitable. With the collapse of late at night, one of the last bastions of traditional television is out. In addition to the cable news, very soon, almost nothing will stay to help keep it alive.

The TV will still exist, for sure, but it is destined to become a lifeless shadow of what it once was. The point of no return is to us.