Stephen Colbert's Late Show tenure is coming to an end in May 2026. While he'll likely put all his effort into making his final run memorable, the comedian should also be looking to the future. But the wrong career move could significantly damage his legacy.
Publicly, there was every reason to believe Colbert would spend decades at CBS as host of The Late Show. The 61-year-old earned late-night's highest ratings among network shows and gave no indication he wanted to move on. But Paramount had other ideas, and now Colbert is looking at unemployment in 10 months.
A departure from The Late Show will give Colbert the creative freedom to pursue the next chapter in his entertainment career. Let's just hope it doesn't involve any of these five possibilities.
1. Reboot The Colbert Report
The Colbert Report ranks among the greatest achievements in modern television history, never mind just late-night TV. Colbert created a fully formed character over 1,400 episodes, demonstrating a level of political satire brilliance that hasn't really been matched.
Colbert would be wise to leave the past in the past. Cable news has changed so much that the character "Stephen Colbert" seems tame. And no audience would buy the premise of an over-the-top conservative/Trump supporter after watching the real Stephen Colbert relentlessly attack Trump for a decade.
2. Return to CBS for any reason
Maybe David Letterman's prediction will come true and CBS decision-makers behind cancelling The Late Show will realize their mistake. Maybe when Donald Trump leaves office, Skydance will realize they cut ties with Colbert too quickly. But if that happens and they go crawling back to Colbert for any reason, he'd be smart to say no.
Paramount cancelled The Late Show while Colbert was on vacation and had his agent break the news. Plus, the host already began burning bridges when he called Paramount's settlement with President Trump a "bribe." Yes, Letterman and Conan O'Brien went back to NBC after their respective fallouts. Colbert's story feels a little different, and it's best to sever ties with the network.
3. Star in forgettable streaming movies
Stephen Colbert made a name for himself as a comedic actor before joining the political satire world with The Daily Show. He co-created and starred in the cult-classic Strangers with Candy, building off his undeniable improv abilities.
So it wouldn't be a complete 180 for Colbert to go back to acting and playing someone other than himself; he just has to be careful about what roles he takes. It's easy to imagine Netflix or Prime calling him up, hoping to get another Daily Show correspondent turned movie star, a la Steve Carell. The last thing Colbert needs is to pop up in an algorithm-generated movie that scores below 60% on Rotten Tomatoes.
4. Become the left's Greg Gutfeld
If Colbert wants to remain in late-night TV, it's not a bad idea to consider a move to cable. It worked out for Conan O'Brien at TBS. But that network hasn't made any efforts to rejoin the genre after saying goodbye to O'Brien, George Lopez, and Samantha Bee over the years.
But what if CNN or MSNBC decides they want an answer to Fox News' Gutfeld!? Greg Gutfeld has earned Fox impressive ratings by offering an alternative to the left-leaning network shows. CNN launching Colbert! would just be a mistake. Colbert doesn't need to go all-in as a liberal culture warrior and waste his talents.
5. Host a game show
There's nothing inherently wrong with hosting a game show. Plenty of other late-night personalities have done it, including Jimmy Kimmel, Colin Jost, and Jimmy Fallon. However, it just doesn't feel like a fit for Stephen Colbert.
Fallon and Kimmel are suited to cozy up to celebrities much more than Colbert. And while an improv background would help on a game show, the format doesn't lend itself to much consistent comedy. Colbert is a student of comedy and one of the sharpest minds on television. He can do better than introducing games or teasing cash prizes