NEED TO KNOW
Stephen Colbert is officially on summer vacation.
The comedian’s late-night talk show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, aired its last new episode before its summer hiatus on Thursday, Aug. 7, meaning fans won’t get new episodes for a few weeks.
Colbert will be back with all-new episodes of The Late Show on Tuesday, Sept. 2, so fans don’t have long to wait.
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In the meantime, fans can enjoy rerun episodes.
Rerun episodes this week range from as far back as February and as recent as July.
Celebrity guests include George Clooney and Alan Ritchson on Monday; David Oyelowo, Finn Wolfhard and Alan Cumming on Tuesday; Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday; John Oliver on Thursday; and Bad Bunny and Leanne Morgan on Friday.
This differs from how other late-night hosts handle summer hiatuses, with Jimmy Kimmel utilizing guest hosts for Jimmy Kimmel Live! while he takes a break.
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Colbert’s summer hiatus comes weeks after CBS announced that The Late Show will end in May 2026.
Colbert, who first took over The Late Show in 2015, shared the news in his opening monologue of the July 17 episode.
“Before we start the show, I want you to know something that I found out just last night,” he said. “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May.”
“It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced,” he said. “This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners.”
Colbert expressed his gratitude to everyone behind the scenes of the show and to the fans who watch.
“And let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it, and it’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months,” he said. “It’s gonna be fun.”
CBS said in a statement that the cancellation of The Late Show was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
The network added that it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” the parent company of CBS.
Many questioned the timing of the cancellation, as the decision came days after Colbert criticized Paramount during his July 14 episode for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump on July 3.
Trump had alleged that CBS News’ 60 Minutes had deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
The settlement occurred while Paramount was in the middle of a merger with the entertainment company Skydance, a business move that required approval from Trump’s administration.
The merger was complete on Aug. 7, the same day as Colbert’s most recent new Late Show episode.
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Colbert has already lined up an exciting new gig outside of The Late Show.
The comedian will guest star on Elsbeth season 3. While many details about his role are under wraps for now, PEOPLE learned that art will imitate life as he will play a late-night talk show host on the Carrie Preston-starring series.
Preston plays the titular Elsbeth Tascioni, an attorney from Chicago who utilizes her equally unique and quirky perspective to help the New York Police Department solve crimes.
Colbert had previously expressed interest in appearing on the series when Wendell Pierce stopped by The Late Show in February.
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert returns with new episodes on Tuesday, Sept. 2 on CBS.
