There are no more new episodes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2025. This is certainly disappointing news, but it’s also not that surprising. After all, the late night and primetime shows are now all officially on their winter breaks.
The last of the new episodes of The Late Show aired on Thursday, Dec. 18, as there was a rerun the next night. We’re expecting Colbert to return in January 2026, but the date is yet to be confirmed. CBS has set the reruns all the way through to Friday, Jan. 2, hinting that we’ll get new episodes on Monday, Jan. 5.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is on a break
This break isn’t surprising. Around this time of year, the linear ratings for all networks drop. Rather than risking the shows, the networks opt to take all their shows off the air and put on holiday programming instead. After all, people are spending time with their families right now!
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be back in 2026. However, there is still some bad news about this series. CBS still hasn’t U-turned on the decision to cancel the series. Colbert’s contract comes to an end in May 2026, and that’s when the series will end. No, it’s not just Colbert leaving. CBS has opted not to have The Late Show at all.
It’ll be interesting to see the plan after this. After all, while late night TV ratings aren’t as strong as primetime ones, CBS usually sits at the top of the ratings for the week. It’s usually just between Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel each night. Does CBS really want to pass on all the viewers to ABC or NBC?
The Late Show reruns for Christmas week
While the schedule has been set for the next two weeks, we’re going to look at this week’s schedule itself. You can check out the official press release from CBS to see the second week of reruns as well.
They are all reruns from December episodes. Some of them are more recent than others, with a confirmed rerun of the last episode of 2025 — on Christmas Eve of all days! It’s a chance to watch Colbert’s Canceled Christmas: The Last Noel narrated by Nick Offerman again!
Monday, Dec. 22: Rachel Maddow, Drive-By Truckers featuring Jason Isbell
Tuesday, Dec. 23: Sigourney Weaver, Mandy Patinkin, George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” featuring Tiler Peck
Wednesday, Dec. 24: Hugh Jackman, Louis Cato and the Late Show Band, Colbert’s Canceled Christmas: The Last Noel
Thursday, Dec. 25: Michael Shannon, Jessie Buckley, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Friday, Dec. 26: Laura Dern, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Holiday “First Drafts” with Evie McGee Colbert
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on CBS.