During a recent interview with fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert offered a profoundly candid and emotional retelling of the moment he discovered “The Late Show” was being canceled, and the immense pressure he felt to inform his dedicated staff.
Colbert disclosed that the somber news was conveyed during an extensive two-and-a-half-hour phone call with his manager, James Dixon. Dixon, who had been aware of the decision for a week, intentionally waited until Colbert had concluded his vacation before delivering the difficult update. Upon learning of the cancellation, Colbert immediately shared the information with his wife, who vehemently insisted he inform his staff without delay.
“She pressed me, asking, ‘Are you going to tell the staff?’” Colbert recalled. “I was considering waiting until after our summer break, but she firmly stated, ‘You are telling them tomorrow.’ She even declared she would accompany me to work to ensure I followed through.” The weight of the impending announcement caused Colbert considerable distress; he vividly remembered sweating through his shirt, driven by a powerful desire for his team to be privy to the same information he possessed.
Initially, to avoid disrupting the day’s taping, Colbert confined the disclosure to his executive producers. However, once the episode was complete, he gathered his entire crew and the live studio audience, making an unusual announcement: “Nobody leave. We have one more act of the show.” Despite his stage manager’s confusion, asserting that the show was indeed finished, Colbert insisted, “No, there is one more act of the show. Please don’t let the audience go.”
Stepping back onto the stage to deliver the unofficial 'final act,' Colbert was overcome with nervousness. Without the aid of a teleprompter, he stumbled over his words twice. The audience, initially assuming it was a comedic bit, offered encouraging shouts like, “You can do it, Steve!” However, as he finally articulated the devastating news, the laughter and encouragement dissolved into a profound, stunned silence. It was in that moment of quiet gravity that the true impact of the cancellation settled upon everyone present.
CBS had officially announced in July that “The Late Show” would conclude after the next television season, citing the decision as a “financial” one. Nevertheless, speculation circulated that the move was potentially influenced by a desire to appease the FCC, thereby ensuring a smoother merger between CBS’s parent company, Paramount, and Skydance Media.
---
Originally published at: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/stephen-colbert-moment-found-out-late-show-canceled-1236535721/
