CBS has cancelled four shows as part of its latest schedule changes, including the long-running The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and newer series that have failed to get traction.
The network announced its new schedule for the 2026-2027 season, which showed 19 returning series and four new series.
CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach said about the cancellations of DMV and Watson that the shows were “a joy to work on,” but said “it’s a high bar on CBS. We aggregate all the numbers, and we have to make those tough decisions in order to make room for new shows.”
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
One of CBS’s most high-profile cancellations is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the long-running late-night talk show hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert.
Colbert took over the show from David Letterman in 2015 and became a major fixture of CBS’s late-night lineup, mixing political satire, celebrity interviews, and musical performances.
It ran for 11 seasons with Colbert at the helm, and for 33 years in its entirety.
The final episode aired in May, and was watched by 6.74 million viewers, making it the series’ most-watched weeknight episode of all time, according to CBS data. It attracted an average of 2.69 million viewers in the first quarter of 2026, according to live+7 big data info.
The cancellation announcement came on the heels of Colbert criticizing CBS parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes lawsuit, calling it a “big fat bribe” as the company sought approval for its merger with Skydance Media.
However, Paramount and CBS officials said in a statement that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” and was not “related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
The show holds a 7.2/10 rating on IMDb.
The Neighborhood
Rotten Tomatoes: 59-77 percent Audience Score across seasons | 24 percent Critic Score for Season 1
The sitcom The Neighborhood also found itself on the chopping block after running for eight seasons.
The show, which premiered in 2018, told the story of a white Midwestern family as they adjust to moving into a predominantly black neighborhood in Pasadena, and starred Cedric the Entertainer and Max Greenfield.
CBS announced in 2025 that the show had been renewed for an eighth and final season.
Cedric the Entertainer previously said that requests for salary raises played a part in the show’s cancellation.
The show holds a 6.8/10 rating on IMDb.
Watson
Rotten Tomatoes: 34 percent Audience Score | 53 percent Critic Score
Watson is a medical mystery drama spin-off centred on Dr. John Watson, reimagining the Sherlock Holmes universe in a modern hospital setting.
The series ran for two seasons with Morris Chestnut starring as Watson. The show follows Watson opening a medical practice after the death of Holmes, and was described as a medical drama with detective elements.
The show holds a 5.6/10 rating on IMDb.
DMV
Rotten Tomatoes: 60 percent Audience Score | 65 percent Critic Score
DMV is a workplace comedy set inside a Department of Motor Vehicles office, following staff members forming friendships while navigating bureaucratic chaos.
The series premiered in 2025 and ran for one season before its cancellation, starring Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows in an ensemble cast.
Why CBS Is Canceling Shows
CBS executives said the “bar is high” for renewal, with shows being evaluated on overall viewership, and cancellations being made to make room for new shows.
The network’s new fall schedule includes four new series, including the newly announced NCIS: New York starring LL Cool J.
Three other previously announced new shows are legal drama Cupertino starring Mike Colter, Einstein starring Matthew Gray Gubler and Melissa Fumero, and Eternally Yours, a family drama about a vampire couple, from the producers of Ghosts.
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