Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and More React to ‘Late Night With Stephen Colbert’ Cancellation Shocker

Stephen Colbert left fans stunned when he announced that CBS has chosen to permanently end The Late Show in May 2026.

“It’s not just the end of our show,” Colbert explained to his audience on the Thursday, July 17, episode of the top-performing late-night chat fest. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

Following the bombshell announcement, other television hosts flooded social media to share their opinions on the controversial decision.

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Jimmy Fallon, who hosts The Tonight Show, wrote he was “shocked” that this was happening.

“Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come,” he continued in his Instagram Story. “I’m sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30. But honestly, he’s really been a gentleman and a true friend over the years — going back to The Colbert Report, and I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.”

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Jimmy Kimmel penned, “Love you Stephen. F**k you and all your Sheldons CBS,” in a scathing criticism posted to his Instagram.

Taking to his own Instagram Stories, Seth Meyers chimed in, “For as great a comedian and host he is, Stephen Colbert is an even better person.”

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“I’m going to miss having him on TV every night, but I’m excited he can no longer use the excuse that he’s ‘too busy to hang out’ with me,” he joked.

When the clip was shared on the official Instagram account for The Late Show, other celebrities flocked to the comments section to share words of love and support for Colbert, 61, as they mourned the end of the popular series.

Journalist Katie Couric said she was “so upset” and that she would “need more information,” and Bravo executive Andy Cohen confessed he was “so pissed off.”

Elsewhere in the comments, Superman Returns star Brandon Routh praised Colbert for his “courage and bravery,” as well as for him giving a voice “to the injustice” of the world.

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“This news feels unjust,” he noted. “Thank you also for the light and laughter you, and all at your wonderful production have brought us.”

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In an official statement, CBS and Paramount executives claimed that the cancellation of the show was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop” of late-night television and that it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” per AP News.

The Late Show began in 1993 with David Letterman, who hosted the series until his retirement in 2015. Colbert took over in September 2015, after helming his Comedy Central news show, The Colbert Report, for nearly 10 years.