David Letterman, the original host who built the Ed Sullivan Theater into a temple of topical comedy, has broken his silence this summer on CBS’s decision to end The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in May 2026. For a franchise that shaped the rhythm of late night for over three decades, his response carries particular weight.
David Letterman shares his verdict on late-night show future
David Letterman has offered a thoughtful assessment of where late-night television is headed amid sweeping changes to the genre.
Speaking to The New York Times in an interview published on Tuesday, May 5, the host of The Late Show from its 1993 debut through 2015, opened up about the program’s upcoming finale. According to Letterman, the late-night TV landscape is on shaky ground. He expressed his doubts that some shows will make it past “a year or so.”
Last year, CBS stunned viewers by announcing that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would conclude in May. At the time, the network described it as a “purely financial decision.”
When asked if he thought CBS canceled The Late Show for financial reasons, Letterman argued that Colbert was removed to smooth the network’s sale to Skydance. He implied that network leaders promised to resolve any issues with the host by folding the show’s end into the terms of the merger.
“I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying,” Letterman told The New York Times. “They’re lying weasels,” he further added. The 79-year-old shared that he was stunned when he first heard CBS would end The Late Show’s run.
“All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms and on and on. TV may be not the money machine it once was,” he said. However, Letterman later added that he doesn’t believe late-night television will ever disappear. He called it the best format because it centers on “humans talking to humans.”
Originally reported by Sibanee Gogoi on Mandatory.
