The Ratings are in for 11:35 p.m. on CBS. 

Published: Friday, May 29, 2026

by Elijah Weintraub

FAIRVIEW, N.J. - It’s now officially been a week since Stephen Colbert and The Late Show went dark on CBS, and the ratings are in for the finale and its new replacement, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.  

 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was canceled back in July 2025, with CBS saying, “it was a financial decision.” CBS also said “The Late Show” franchise would be going away entirely and would be replaced with Comics Unleashed.  

 

The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired on May 21, 2026, signing off with Paul McCartney, Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste, Louis Cato, and the Late Show band singing “Hello Goodbye” with the staff in the background. The finale gained 6.7 million viewers.  

 

For late-night fans wondering: No, it was not the most-watched finale show ever. The Late Show with David Letterman drew 13 million viewers, while The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson scored the biggest late-night finale viewership, at 55 million viewers. A big reason for the differences is, of course, streaming services today to only cable TV back in the day.  

 

Comics Unleashed, Colbert’s replacement, only gained 995,000 viewers. Colbert, in that same time slot, averaged close to 2 million viewers. Compared to the other late-night shows at the same time slots, it's extremely low. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC gained 1.5 million viewers, while Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC averaged 1.6 million viewers, according to TV Insider.  

 

The ratings are based on Memorial Day week viewership. 

For more information contact Elijah Weintraub at elijah.weintraub@student.shu.edu 

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