Why The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not new tonight
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been cancelled for the entire week of November 27-December 1.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is going with reruns for a second straight week, as there will be no new episodes of the talk show airing between Monday, December 4, and Friday, December 8. The decision was made so host Stephen Colbert could continue to recover from his recent medical procedure.
On Monday, November 27, Colbert shared a message on Threads that he underwent surgery for a ruptured appendix, which must have occurred sometime after his last show on Wednesday, November 22, wrapped up for the Thanksgiving holiday. Colbert showed he still has his funny bone in the message:
"Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. I'm sure you're thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I'm recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix. I'm grateful to my doctors for their care and to Evie and the kids for putting up with me. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."
Then on Sunday, December 3, he posted again on Threads saying that he is following the advice of his doctors and "continuing to rest and heal."
While it was previously believed Colbert would be able to return December 4 for new episodes, and guests had been announced, the decision to postpone for his return means that there will be another week of reruns in the talk show's usual time slot of 11:35 pm ET/PT on CBS.
Here is a complete rundown of The Late Show episodes that are going to air as reruns this week:
Monday, December 4
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- Kerry Washington
- Rep. Maxwell Frost
- Original air date October 10
Tuesday, December 5
- Sec. Pete Buttigieg
- Willie Nelson
- Original airdate November 2
Wednesday, December 6
- John Oliver
- Performance by boygenius
- Original airdate October 3
Thursday, December 7
- Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez
- Performance by Arlo Parks
- Original airdate October 23
Friday, December 8
- Talking Heads
- Mae Martin
- Original air date October 25
This is the second time that Colbert has had a medical incident forcing him to cancel multiple shows in a week. Back in October, just shortly after returning from the end of the writers strike, he was diagnosed with COVID and had to cancel shows as a result.
The hope now will be that Colbert can return for the week of December 11-15.
In the meantime, you can watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert reruns nightly at 11:35 pm ET/PT on CBS or stream episodes on-demand on Paramount Plus.

Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.
Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.
Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.