Stephen Colbert Finally Has A Reason To Celebrate The Late Show’s Cancellation Thanks To Revived FCC Mandate: ‘Good Luck, Jimmy!’

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Stephen Colbert is appearing on Seth Meyers’ Late Night after more than ten years, highlighting how much talk shows have changed. Instead of competition between hosts, the current issue is conflict with the U.S. government, specifically the FCC and its chairman, Brendan Carr. The FCC recently targeted talk shows again with an announcement, ironically leading Colbert to express relief that CBS had already decided to end The Late Show – he only has four months left on his contract.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to update a nearly century-old law originally designed for television. The most important part of this law today concerns political fairness on non-news shows. It requires that if a show invites a candidate from one political party, it must also offer an equal opportunity to a qualified candidate from the opposing party.

For years, a particular rule wasn’t enforced because programs considered “news” were exempt. Now, Brendan Carr is arguing that late night and daytime talk shows, like The View, shouldn’t be classified as news. This could significantly impact the future of these shows, potentially changing the 2026 TV lineup. Stephen Colbert jokingly pointed out on The Late Show that he won’t be affected, as he doesn’t plan to be on air that long.

The FCC chair, Brendan Carr, recently announced something that’s frustrating for me, as it will impact my work for the next four months. I’m wishing Jimmy Kimmel the best, and frankly, I’m not feeling sympathetic to anyone else involved. Goodbye!

It’s clear Stephen Colbert isn’t happy about leaving his job in four months, and he often shows his disappointment. Given the many controversies CBS and Paramount have faced recently, it’s likely work became less enjoyable for him. Jimmy Kimmel can probably relate, as he was temporarily suspended in 2025 after making comments about the person who shot at Charlie Kirk.

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have become close friends over the years, and 2025 was a particularly eventful year for both of them – Kimmel faced a temporary suspension, and Colbert’s show was cancelled. Given this, it’s understandable that Colbert would publicly support Kimmel, as Kimmel is still dealing with restrictions from the Communications Act until his contract ends.

Colbert challenged the argument that the FCC is reinstating this rule to prevent TV shows from unfairly favoring a political side, highlighting the flaw in that reasoning.

It’s pretty obvious they’re trying to shut us up – me, Jimmy, and Seth. And honestly, I’m a little impressed the FCC thinks anything we do on our show could actually influence politics. I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and let me tell you, if things had gone the way I wanted, you wouldn’t have the authority to even make this kind of statement.

Regardless of what happens with the FCC’s new rules about fairness for political candidates on television, I’m really hoping the joke on The Late Show about the old, fictional talk show Cthulhu Tonight somehow becomes a real thing. I’m just curious to see how that ancient, mythical creature would hold and drink from a coffee mug.

As of now, with about four months remaining in the current schedule, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. Eastern Time. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount+ the following day, unless CBS decides to make changes.

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2026-01-25 22:41