Why “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ”isn't on this week — and when it returns amid cancellation

Summer break has commenced in the late night circuit.

While The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will continue to air this week on CBS, the episodes will be a mix of reruns from earlier this year. The show is currently on its summertime hiatus, customary among the late night circuit as the hosts take some time off. Jimmy Kimmel, for example, employs guest hosts during his hiatus, while others like Colbert and Jimmy Fallon opt for reruns.

But have no fear, all-new episodes return on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Until then, reruns this week include guests George Clooney and Alan Ritchson on Monday; David Oyelowo, Finn Wolfhard, and Alan Cumming on Tuesday; senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday; fellow late night host John Oliver on Thursday; and Bad Bunny and Leanne Morgan on Friday.

CBS announced last month that it would not just be ending Colbert's run on the network but retiring the venerable Late Show franchise as a whole after the 2025-26 broadcast season, calling the divisive decision a "purely financial" one "against a challenging backdrop in late night."

The network insisted the move was "not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at [CBS parent company] Paramount."

But lawmakers and unions have questioned the timing of Colbert's ouster given Paramount's recent settlement with President Donald Trump regarding a 60 Minutes segment with Kamala Harris, which vocal Trump critic Colbert had criticized as a "big fat bribe" prior to the show's shock cancellation.

Trump reveled in the cancellation, writing on social media that he "absolutely loves" that Colbert will soon be off air and stating that the comedian's "talent was even less than his ratings." (Colbert's rebuttal? "Go f--- yourself.")

Since the cancellation announcement, Colbert has continued to double down on his eviscerations of the administration, mocking Vice President JD Vance in his final monologue before the summer hiatus on Thursday, Aug. 7.

Aptly thinking ahead, Colbert also used the monologue to court Netflix and perhaps even Amazon for a new job once he concludes his late night gig in May 2026. "Netflix, call me. I'm available in June," he quipped, later adding,  "I will also entertain offers from Amazon."

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His guests for the Aug. 7 episode included Alex Padilla, the Democratic senator from California who was referred to as "José" by Vance following his detainment for inquiring about the administration's mass deportation tactics. "He knows my name," Padilla said of the moment to Colbert. "But if he wants to try and mock and attack me by calling me José, I'll tell you this: I'm proud to be a José. This administration will use José and Maria to try to villainize immigrants, and it's wrong."

"So to all the Josés and Marias out there who are contributing to the economy, working hard, building communities," Padilla added, "we're going to continue to stand up and rise up."

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert returns with new episodes Sept. 2 on CBS.

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