Stephen Colbert opened his latest episode of The Late Show by poking fun at Paramount’s 108 billion dollar attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Addressing the audience, Colbert highlighted the scale of the bid and jokingly referenced the cancellation of his own show.
Stephen Colbert wants Paramount to ‘un-cancel’ his show after $108 billion Warner Bros. bid
Stephen Colbert used his latest monologue on The Late Show to comment on Paramount Skydance’s newly reported 108 billion dollar bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The host remarked that if his parent company is prepared to spend such a substantial sum on an acquisition, it should also be able to reconsider cancelling one of its popular late-night shows. His comment drew enthusiastic applause.
During the monologue, Colbert described the scale of the bidding war and the volume of intellectual property at stake. He explained, “We’re talking DC superheroes, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Fifty Shades of Grey, and The Lord of the Rings. Not to mention its erotic spin-off, Fifty Shades of Gandalf the Grey.”
Colbert told viewers, “My beloved parent company, Paramount, reportedly launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Brothers, valued at $108 billion.” Joking about the network’s financial capacity, the host said, “Wow! I got to say, if my company’s got that kind of green, I’m sure they can afford to un-cancel one of their best shows.”
When the audience reacted loudly, Colbert followed the remark with a joke that he was referring to The Equalizer, the Queen Latifah drama that CBS cancelled after five seasons. He said, “CBS, you heard the people. Bring back The Equalizer. We need our Queen to return. Why do you think America has become so unequalized?”
The comment was widely understood as a reference to his own show, which CBS plans to end in May 2026. In an earlier statement, CBS stated that the cancellation of the show is “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
Originally reported by Disheeta Maheshwari on ComingSoon.
