Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show wasn’t the only highly rated show CBS gave the ax to this year.
According to a report from Variety, the network, which was acquired by Donald Trump’s billionaire pal David Ellison in August as part of Skydance’s Paramount deal, also axed the medical drama Watson, which drew 6.4 million viewers during its second and final season. The show, which stars Morris Chestnut, made the report’s Top 100 Broadcast/Cable/Streaming Shows of 2025-26 for total viewership across multi-platform, cross-season ratings, ranking 74th.
Another CBS show with slightly lower viewership that still made the Top 100 list is the network’s sitcom, DMV, which was also quietly canceled after just one season. The series were both revealed to be discontinued when CBS announced its upcoming lineup of shows in May. The news that both axed shows were among the network’s most-watched comes after The Late Show aired its last episode on May 21.
Colbert, who had been in a heated back-and-forth with the president when Trump’s buddy was gearing up to acquire his show’s parent network, was axed soon after he accused Paramount of “bribing” the president. Paramount insisted the choice to cancel the show ahead of the merger was “purely financial.”
Still, Colbert was the highest-rated late-night host for nine consecutive years until May, holding the number-one spot in total live viewers. CBS leased Colbert’s timeslot for $15 million to billionaire businessman Byron Allen, who bought it to air his late-night comedy shows, Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask. Since the takeover, CBS has seen an 85 percent decline in viewership.
Allen defended the slump by claiming his viewership numbers were comparable to Colbert’s “post-cancellation victory lap,” but The Late Show still drew double the viewers in comparison to Comics Unleashed last May, according to Nielsen data obtained by LateNighter.
The news of the head-scratching cancellations also comes as CBS News head Bari Weiss faces backlash for her helming of the outlet, as well as her major shakeup at 60 Minutes.
