Stephen Colbert now thinks “Late Show” cancellation may have 'saved my life'

Marina WattsTue, May 19, 2026 at 2:28 PM UTC

0

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' in June 2024
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via GettyKey Points -

Stephen Colbert is shifting his energy after the final Late Show episode.

As his Late Show winds down, he looks forward to being a father to three adult children and focusing his energy on doing "other things that I want to do."

The final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs on Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Maybe Stephen Colbert's show getting canceled has a silver lining.

The longtime Late Show With Stephen Colberthost mused that CBS pulling the plug on his eponymous show "saved my life," he told PEOPLE. The reason? “It takes a lot of bone marrow to do the show every day, and now I’ll be stepping down with enough time, enough energy to do other things that I want to do."

He and his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, share three adult children: Madeleine, 30, Peter, 28, and John, 24. Colbert admitted that this stage of fatherhood is "the best."

"To lose an argument with an adult child over something you thought you knew about. I mean, if you can take it, it's pretty great," the 62-year-old quipped.

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' in May 2026
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty

Elsewhere in the interview, Colbert mentioned he was hesitant to take over Late Show from David Letterman in 2015 after hosting The Colbert Reportfrom 2005 until 2014.

"I’m an actor and a writer. I became a writer because nobody would cast me in anything and I had to write for myself. I always imagined that’s what I’d be doing after The Colbert Report because that was an acting job. When I got this, at first I was like, ‘No, I can’t do that job. I’m not a standup. I’ve never been myself.'"

Reflecting on his time on Late Show, Colbert said, “I tried never to take for granted filming in the Ed Sullivan Broadway theater, having that tremendous audience, or having the ability to work with the funniest people I know every day and make jokes about the things that make me most anxious.”

Advertisement

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.

CBS announced in July 2025 that they were cancelingThe Late Show franchise as a whole after 33 years.

"We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television," a statement read, noting that it was "purely a financial decision."

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' in February 2026
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty

Colbert also addressed the decision on his show at the time, lamenting that "this is all just going away."

"Let me tell you, it is a fantastic job," he said. "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. It's going to be fun."

The final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs on Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”