STEPHEN Colbert’s long run on CBS is coming to an end — and insiders say the veteran host is now facing the difficult reality of what comes next.
With the final episode of The Late Show set to air on May 21, sources say the 61-year-old presenter is struggling with the looming end of the flagship late-night program he has hosted for nearly a decade.
According to one industry insider, the mood behind the scenes has grown increasingly tense as the show winds down production.
“The reality of shutting down a huge show like The Late Show is hitting Stephen hard,” a source told the National Enquirer.
“There’s frustration, tension with CBS leadership and a growing sense that the future is uncertain once the cameras stop rolling.”
Colbert has reportedly already begun disappearing from some network spaces. His photos have been removed from parts of CBS’s Manhattan broadcast centre, and staff connected to the show are said to have been quietly cut off from wider company communications.
The atmosphere around the production has also grown uneasy as employees confront the possibility that hundreds of jobs tied to the show could soon disappear.
“These kinds of television jobs in New York are incredibly rare,” the source says. “People stay in them for decades if they can. Now everyone is facing the reality that it’s ending.”
Despite the looming finale, insiders say Colbert has yet to publicly outline any clear plan for what he will do next — or whether members of his roughly 200-person team will move with him to a new project.
There has been speculation that the host could launch a podcast or pivot into political commentary online, but sources say that may not be his preferred path.
“Stephen would much rather stay in network television and continue doing a version of the show he’s been hosting for the past ten years,” the insider says. “Just under different bosses.”
But as the late-night television landscape continues to shift and budgets tighten across the industry, insiders say there is little certainty that a new network offer will appear.
“There isn’t huge confidence that a miracle deal is coming,” the source says. “Stephen may have to accept that he’ll need to reinvent himself.”