Years before CBS canceled "The Late Show," host Stephen Colbert reportedly balked at having guest hosts fill in during his health-related absences, fearing they might upstage him and put his job at risk, sources familiar with the matter said.

According to Radar Online, Colbert, 61, was forced to miss several episodes in late 2023 after suffering a ruptured appendix. Despite CBS executives encouraging him to consider temporary hosts during his recovery, insiders say Colbert declined the offer, citing insecurity and mistrust.

A source close to the show told the outlet that Colbert's decision to air reruns instead of guest-hosted episodes revealed a deep level of insecurity, marked by underlying fear and paranoia about losing his coveted role. Another insider noted, "Stephen is not exactly a 'pass the baton' type of person. There's no chance of him handing over the reins to someone who might want to push him out of the way too!"

Colbert returned to the show on December 11, 2023, sharing candid details about working through the pain before undergoing surgery. "The pain was manageable," he joked.

His bandleader, Louis Cato, added, "I knew something was wrong when, for the first time in almost nine years, you had to rehearse the monologue sitting at the desk with a barf bucket next to you."

Colbert likened the surgical scene to an action movie, "When they opened me up it was like they shot John Wick 5 down there."

In 2025, CBS officially announced the end of "The Late Show", describing the decision as a financial one unrelated to the show's performance. However, Colbert publicly criticized the move, calling it a big fat bribe to President Donald Trump, whom Colbert had frequently targeted on air.

Per Yahoo! Entertainment, the final season wraps up on May 21, and network insiders reveal challenges facing Colbert and the production team.

"The grim realities of winding down a major production like The Late Show are playing out in a pretty dark way," a source said. "These network-backed writing and producing jobs are hard to come by in New York City – people stay in them for decades if they can."

The insider added that Colbert now confronts the necessity of reinventing himself to maintain relevance in the evolving late-night landscape. "He needs to face the reality that he's going to have to completely reinvent himself if he wants to avoid the fate that his fellow late-night outcast James Corden suffered — a total loss of relevance among American audiences when his show went off the air."

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Stephen Colbert