The 2026 TV schedule will signify the end of an era for late-night programming, as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will wrap up its run on CBS in May after more than a decade. Many have their feelings about the series being canceled and the announced (and speculated-upon) reasons for it. Colbert himself has remained laser focused on trying to “land [the] plane,” so to speak. However, he also recently likened his show’s inevitable demise to a man approaching him with a knife or an ice cream cone, and I get it.
Considering the circumstances, I’d say it’s natural to wonder how Colbert is feeling about the conclusion of his show, which he also confirmed on air this past July. The Emmy winner has been fielding questions about his feelings on the cancellation and what he might do next. Colbert recently spoke with GQ for a lengthy conversation, during which he was very introspective. When asked if his remaining months on air feel like a long or short period of time, Colbert shared the following thought:
“The end has a discernible shape, but it still seems like a long way away.”
In other words, the former Colbert Report host is aware that “the end” is perceivable in a very specific way. However, the end of Colbert’s late-night run is still a little ways off for him and his team. Still, in terms of what the end looks like, Colbert described it with an image that, upon first hearing about it, sounds very odd:
“The image I have is a man walking toward me in the dusk and he’s got something in his hand, and I don’t know whether it’s a knife or an ice cream cone, but he’s asking me if I’d like a lick.”
As surreal as this all sounds, it’s actually understandable, if you ask me. Not to get too philosophical here, but sometimes there’s a level of uncertainty that lies at the end of a journey. I had that very feeling when I graduated from college, as I knew I’d be awarded a degree but had no idea whether I’d quickly find my way into the workforce. I suppose, for me, the degree aligns with the ice cream, while the knife could sync with the prospect of prolonged unemployment. Still, in many ways, my experience isn’t comparable to Colbert’s.
When Paramount, CBS’ parent company, announced The Late Show’s cancellation, it attributed the decision to financial reasons. It’s been reported that the program had been losing millions of dollars over the past several years. Still, some believe the move was politically motivated, as Stephen Colbert criticized his employers for settling a $16 million lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Colbert, however, isn’t putting much stock in those assumptions, as he confirmed during his interview with GQ.
Anyone looking to make the jump from cable to an internet TV package and watch talk shows like The Late Show should grab YouTube TV. The service has you covered with live news, sports, and major broadcast and cable channels.
It’s still somewhat weird to think that this time next year, TLS will have been over for several months. For now, though, I admire that Stephen Colbert isn’t paying too much attention to the noise and is focused on steering the ship accordingly. I’m just hopeful that when he reaches his figurative destination he receives an ice cream cone instead of that knife.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and can also be accessed with a YouTube TV subscription.
News
He started every shift the same way. Coffee in the battered travel mug his crew had bought him after his promotion. Gear checked in a practiced sweep: helmet, hood, turnout coat, SCBA, gloves, radio. A glance at the board with the old, fading photo of Engine 12’s first crew taped in the corner like a blessing.
On paper, Captain James Miller was a man built out of routines. He started every shift the same way. Coffee…
An immigrant mother cleaned offices during the day and studied English at night. On the day of her naturalization oath, she was unaccompanied. A court official saw her standing alone, so he walked over and took a picture of her with his phone. She smiled through tears: ‘Today… I am truly an American.’
1 The first winter in Chicago almost broke Marisol Hernández. Not in the dramatic way movies liked to show—no smudged…
He Vanished for Years… Until His Dying War Dog Called Him Home
1 The ICU at Guardian Paws Veterinary Hospital was quieter than any battlefield Ethan Cole had ever known. The quiet…
Everyone Drove Past the Wheelchair Veteran—Until One Biker Did the Unthinkable
1 The tent had been there so long that people stopped noticing it. It sat in a narrow strip of…
BREAKING: BOOM! Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez RIPS Marjorie Taylor Greene for pretending to have principles when she’s bailing out after making herself rich off public service! Last night, MTG shocked the nation when she announced that she would be retiring on January 5th, in a long and dramatic letter in which she expressed her frustration with Congress for being out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans and criticized her own party for its corruption and self-dealing. But AOC quickly took to Instagram to call out MTG’s hypocrisy and, as she always does, deliver the TRUTH to the American people about what’s really going on.
Washington loves a grand exit. But Marjorie Taylor Greene’s late-night retirement bombshell didn’t land like a noble mic-drop — it…
Ilhan Omar’s argument on safety net cuts takes an unexpected turn once Brandon Gill fires back with a blunt response that stops her momentum instantly. Her claims about Medicaid, SNAP, and tax benefits set the stage, but Gill shifts the room by pointing directly at long-standing waste, fraud, and controversial taxpayer-funded programs. The moment becomes a sharp contrast between her warnings about harm to Americans and his focus on government misuse.
Ilhan Omar walked into that House hearing ready for a familiar script — the righteous warning, the moral high ground,…
End of content
No more pages to load
