Stephen Colbert Gets Contract Extension From CBS For 'The Late Show'

"The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert will be staying on as host for at least three more years. Per The Hollywood Reporter, CBS President and CEO George Cheeks announced that Colbert has signed a contract extension with CBS for his late-night talk show hosting gig. Cheeks made the announcement on Tuesday (June 13) at the Banff World Media Festival.

Under the new extension, Colbert will remain at CBS through 2026. His current contract was slated to expire at the end of 2023. At the moment, "The Late Show" is airing reruns due to the ongoing labor strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which has been ongoing since May 2.

Cheeks said on the announcement, "[Colbert] is happy — not so happy right now as they're not working — but they're really happy and it's a really cohesive group that is firing on all cylinders, and Stephen is really enjoying himself." The executive continued, "We just extended [the contract] for another three years, and I was praying that was going to happen."

The contract renewal will take Colbert into his 11th anniversary as his host of the popular late-night talk show. Colbert took over from longtime host David Letterman in September 2015. Also, he's been the most-watched late-night talk show host for the past several seasons. Before the WGA strike, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was averaging 2.14 million same-day viewers each week, save for repeats.

Colbert serves as executive producer on his iteration of the talk show along with Tom Purcell and former "Daily Show" colleague Jon Stewart. Additionally, the comedian will executive produce a reboot of the comedic game show "@midnight" that will take over the 12:35 am slot previously held by "The Late Late Show with James Corden" since that show has ended its run. Also, Colbert's Spartina Productions banner has a first-look deal with CBS Studios.

Colbert came to prominence after joining "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central in its second season in 1997. He later received his own news satire program, "The Colbert Report," which debuted on Comedy Central in October 2005 and ran for 11 seasons and 1,447 episodes. The show ended in December 2014 after Colbert was chosen to succeed Letterman as the new host of "The Late Show" on CBS.

Colbert also co-created the Comedy Central series, "Strangers With Candy," along with Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, and Mitch Rouse. He also co-starred in the series opposite Sedaris, who led the show as Geraldine "Jerri" Antonia Blank. Colbert portrayed Charles Noblet, the history teacher of Flatpoint High, the school attended by Blank.

Some of his other acting roles included Phil Ken Sebben, the eccentric boss of superhero-turned-attorney, Harvey Birdman, in "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law." He also appeared in the 2005 big-screen reboot of "Bewitched" opposite Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. In "Monsters vs. Aliens," he voiced President Hathaway, and in "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," he voiced Paul Peterson.

Throughout his illustrious career, Colbert has received 45 Emmy Award nominations. He's collected 10 statues thus far. He has also won two Grammy Awards out of three nominations.