Jimmy Kimmel's show will go dark the night of Stephen Colbert's final 'Late Show' episode
Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," is set to go dark the night of his fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert's final program on May 21.
The final episode of Colbert's "The Late Show" will air on Thursday, May 21, and though Colbert and Kimmel are in different time slots, Kimmel told LateNighter that he will not air a new episode on that Thursday.
Kimmel did the same in 2015 for David Letterman's finale.
Kimmel and other late-night hosts — Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon — are set to appear on Colbert's show Monday night.
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CBS announced in 2025 that "The Late Show" would be canceled at the end of its season in May.
The network cited financial reasons for the show's cancellation at the time. Many politicians and commentators suggested at the time it had to do with pressure from the Trump administration.
Colbert said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that while there does not appear to be definitive proof that his show was canceled for political reasons, he thinks it's the most likely explanation.
Despite acknowledging the traditional broadcast model was in trouble amid a changing media landscape, he suggested, "There are many people who believe there was another reason. And, as I said in the most measured tones I could muster, there is a reason why people believe that. The network had clearly already done it once by cutting that $16 million check [to the Trump administration]."
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"Me being canceled reinforced a narrative that CBS already had a nimbus of knee-bending that they had created around themselves, because even their lawyers said there was no reason to cut the check, and then they did and gave no rationale for why they changed their minds. And then, suddenly, they got their broadcast license," Colbert added.
Several members of the entertainment industry have paid tribute to Colbert in final appearances on the show, in addition to politicians.
Former President Barack Obama sat for an interview with Colbert that aired last week, where he suggested the liberal late-night host could be a better president than Trump.
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Late Nighter reported that Fallon's show will air as scheduled on May 21.