2026 is officially here, which makes the fact that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is ending seem a lot closer than it did just a few days ago. As Colbert moves forward on the last few months of his show, which will end in May on the 2026 TV schedule, he was given a chance to reflect on what he learned in 2025, and he has a very smart (and blunt) way of looking at things.
Colbert was a guest on CNN New Year's Eve 2026 with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen just before the ball dropped and the new year got underway. Cohen asked the late-night host what he had learned from 2025, and Colbert, not one to mince words, gave a very honest, if laughing, response when he said…
What did I learn? Don’t trust billionaires. They don’t get rich by finding that money on the side of the road, brother.
It’s a notably blunt and honest assessment from a notably blunt late-night host. While the decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was a financial one, according to CBS, it has not gone unnoticed that the hammer fell just days after Colbert called CBS settling a lawsuit with President Trump a “bribe” as part of parent company Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance, a merger which was approved shortly after the cancellation was announced.
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It’s a somewhat casual response from Colbert, though it should be said that the via satellite conversation was fairly casual in general. The CNN New Year’s Eve show has something of a reputation for getting at least slightly out of hand as the co-hosts openly drink during the show. Cooper even specifically mentioned that he hadn't wanted Cohen to ask Colbert the question, perhaps because of the can of worms it might open. This might also have been the reason Cohen asked the question in the first place.
New Year’s Eve is a party after all, and everybody involved was having a good time. Colbert even played “Never Have I Ever” because it was just that sort of night. Watch for yourself:
The whole situation is somewhat rare. Usually, when a host leaves a show with a long lead time, it’s because they made the decision to leave. In this case, Colbert has made it clear this was not his decision, which has left the rating leading late-night host to basically do and say whatever he likes about the situation for months before his exit.
While some have suggested that CBS should simply undo its decision to cancel The Late Show, the fact that it hasn’t happened yet, since the new CEO took over, makes it seem unlikely that it will. An exact date for the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has not yet been announced, but it will happen this May.