David Letterman Breaks Silence on CBS Canceling ‘The Late Show’

David Letterman subtly showed his support for Stephen Colbert after CBS canceled The Late Show.

Letterman, 78, posted a compilation video of his tenure as host of The Late Show from 1993 to 2015, via YouTube on Monday, July 21. The clip’s caption made a dig at CBS.

“You can’t spell CBS without BS,” the caption read. (“BS” is a shorthand for bulls***.)

Many fans of the late night program took to comments section to applaud Letterman’s stance.

“Letterman should come back to Colbert’s show and ridicule CBS with a new Top Ten list for cancelling it,” one user wrote, while another replied, “Dave’s social team once again on point. Hat tip to you all!”

Letterman was the longtime host of the beloved evening program before Colbert, now 61, took over the reins in 2015. Last week, Colbert revealed that CBS canceled The Late Show and the long-standing late night program would be coming to an end for food following the 2025-2026 season.

“Before we start the show I want to let you know something that I found out just last night,” the host shared during a July 17 episode taping shared via Instagram. “Next year will be our last season, the network will be ending The Late Show in May.”

The crowd erupted in boos and Colbert confessed he shared their “feelings.”

“It’s not just the end of our show but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” he continued. “I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners … And I’m grateful to the audience, you, who have joined us every night, in here, out there, and all around the world.”

CBS executives later released a statement addressing the decision, revealing that a “financial” choice led to the cancellation. They added it was not “related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

After news broke of The Late Show’s cancellation, countless of late night hosts threw their support behind Colbert including Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and more.

“Obviously, I love Stephen, I love his staff, I love that show — it’s incredibly sad. I’m partly excited to see what they’re gonna do for the next 10 months,” John Oliver told reporters following the news. “It’s terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy.”

Fallon, Meyers, Oliver, Jon Stewart, Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper appeared in the audience of The Late Show episode on Monday, July 21, to show solidarity with Colbert.