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A Brief History of CBS’s Late-Night Eras

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With the hosts Merv Griffin, Pat Sajak, David Letterman and Stephen Colbert, CBS has taken many runs at late-night TV. Some were more successful than others.

Stephen Colbert, in glasses and a suit, stands with his hands in his pockets near stacked amplifiers.

July 18, 2025, 4:41 p.m. ET

For more than five decades, families across the United States have welcomed a slate of CBS late-night shows into their living rooms, bedrooms and — thanks to smartphones and tablets — even bathrooms.

But CBS said on Thursday that it was getting out of the late-night television business by canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” when the host’s contract ends in May. Executives at the network said in a joint statement that the decision was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

(In March, the network canceled “After Midnight,” a late-night comedy panel game show hosted by Taylor Tomlinson.)

During Thursday’s taping of “The Late Show,” when Colbert announced the news, he said that he empathized with the boos from the audience and that he had the pleasure of working on the show for the past 10 years.

“And let me tell you, it is a fantastic job,” he said. “I wish somebody else was getting it.”

Here is a brief history of CBS’s late-night television eras.