‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Ends Its Run With Most-Watched Weeknight Episode Ever
The finale of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' attracted 6.74 million viewers, marking it the most-watched weeknight episode in the series' history. Stephen Colbert took over the show in September 2015, and the finale featured notable guests including Paul McCartney and other late-night hosts. The cancellation of the show has raised questions about its timing in relation to Colbert's recent comments on Paramount's financial decisions.
- ▪The finale episode garnered 6.74 million viewers, surpassing Colbert's debut episode.
- ▪Colbert's tenure began on September 8, 2015, with 6.55 million viewers.
- ▪The show was canceled three weeks before David Ellison took control of Paramount, citing financial reasons.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The finale of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on Thursday Scott Kowalchyk/CBS Stephen Colbert closed out The Late Show on Thursday night to the tune of 6.74M live + same-day viewers, per preliminary panel only data from Nielsen. That makes it the series most-watched weeknight episode ever, CBS says, even higher than Colbert’s very first episode as host. He signed on for duty on September 8, 2015 to around 6.55M viewers. The episode soared well ahead of the Q1 2026 audience average, which landed around 2.69M viewers in L+7. There have been various other special episodes of the late-night show that have garnered more viewers than this. For example, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired a post-Super Bowl episode in 2016 to 20.55M viewers.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Deadline.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Deadline
