Stephen Colbert Gets Ironic New Job With CBS After ‘Late Show’ Was Canceled

The late night talk show will end in 2026.

August 4, 2025, 2:54pm

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 24: Stephen Colbert speaks onstage during "An Evening with Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan" at Newark's NJPAC as part of the inaugural North to Shore Festival and presented by Montclair Film at NJPAC – Prudential Hall on June 24, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Montclair Film and North to Shore Festival )

Stephen Colbert has landed on his feet quickly amid news 2026 marks the last for The Late Show. The longtime night show host has a new gig.

This time around, it’s a primetime spot. Deadline reports that as he is preparing to say goodbye to his talk show, he is also portraying a late-night host for CBS with a guest role on the upcoming third season of the network’s crime anthology Elsbeth.

Videos by PopCulture.com

Colbert won’t star as himself in the episode, which filmed this week. Vulture reports he plays the host of the fictional Way Late with Scotty Bristol. Each episode of Elsbeth solves a different murder. It is unclear how Bristol is connected to that case of the week.

As for how Colbert landed the role, it is believed to stem from a handshake “deal” he made with Wendell Pierce during the Elsbeth star’s appearance on The Late Show this winter when Colbert professed that he had long been asking CBS to play a corpse on one of the network’s crime dramas. At the time, Pierce promised he could help him land his dream role, telling Colbert, “I can make that happen,” he said, referring to Season 3 of Elsbeth, which had just been picked up. “I know a guy who knows a guy. We can get you on,” he added.

His episode was reportedly in the works long before CBS announced that The Late Show will be coming to an end. The show’s ending was reportedly a recent decision.

CBS cited the reason for cancelling The Late Show as a “financial decision,” per Variety. Late-night talk shows have been on the decline because of digital media.

“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise” CBS executives said in a statement. “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. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”