8 of the biggest late night moments of 2025

It's no exaggeration to say that 2025 changed the landscape of late night television.

Although there were the usual viral interview moments with celebrities, the year was dominated by the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the suspension and reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel, and the controversy that surrounded both of those events.

We've recapped some of the biggest late night moments of 2025 below.

1. Stephen Colbert calling out his own parent company

In July, Paramount Global agreed a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he filed a suit against the company over the alleged "deceitful" editing of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice-President Kamala Harris. Stephen Colbert — who works for Paramount-owned CBS — didn't hold back on the news, referring to the payment as "big fat bribe," and noting that Paramount had been trying to secure the Trump administration's approval of its merger with Skydance Media.

"As someone who has alway been a proud employee of this network, I am offended," said Colbert in his Late Show monologue. "And I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help."

2. Stephen Colbert announcing the cancelation of The Late Show

Just days after his comments about Paramount, Stephen Colbert began The Late Show by announcing that it had been cancelled — it will run until May 2026 before ending for good.

"It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS," Colbert told the shocked audience. "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."

3. Stephen Colbert ramping up his coverage of Trump and Epstein

Despite CBS claiming the cancellation of The Late Show was "purely a financial decision" and "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," some speculated that Paramount's Skydance Media merger — which at that point still required approval from the Trump administration — may have been a factor.

Regardless, Colbert, a longtime Trump critic, didn't hold back in the days after his announcement. He ramped up his coverage of the president's actions, telling him to "go **** yourself" before doubling down on his coverage of Trump's friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

4. Jimmy Kimmel being suspended

In September, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! "indefinitely" from broadcast amidst Republican criticism toward Kimmel for his comments about right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk's killer and Republican reactions to Kirk's death. ABC's decision seemed to stem from pressure from the Trump administration; preceding the company's announcement, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr threatened the network to take action against the late night host (and like Colbert, a longtime Trump critic).

Major backlash ensued from celebrities and Kimmel's fellow late night hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Jon Oliver, all of whom offered their support while condemning censorship. Meanwhile, Trump and his followers reacted with glee.

ABC-owned Disney+ and Hulu cancellations doubled during the suspension. Kimmel's show was reinstated a week later, smashing viewership records.

5. John Oliver calling out Disney's CEO in response

Following Kimmel's suspension, John Oliver joined the late night hosts showing their support with a deep dive into exactly what the hell happened. In a must-watch monologue, the Last Week Tonight host lambasted the threatening tactics used by Trump's FCC chair Carr, and appealed directly to Disney CEO Bob Iger, urging him to stand up to parent company ABC using "the only phrase that can genuinely make a weak bully go away...'F*** you. Make me.'"

6. Jon Stewart's 'administration compliant' Daily Show monologue

Another must-watch reaction to Kimmel's suspension was The Daily Show's 23-minute "administration-compliant" monologue from Jon Stewart poking fun at censorship. Facetiously walking on proverbial eggshells, the host referred to Donald Trump as "father" and told the audience to "shut the f*** up" if they reacted negatively to the president — even in regard to Trump's comments saying Kimmel was suspended for having "zero talent" instead of threats from FCC chair Carr to Jimmy Kimmel Live! broadcaster ABC.

7. Seth Meyers calls Kimmel suspension 'a big moment in our democracy'

Late Night host Seth Meyers has also been a target of the president this year, and also responded to Kimmel's suspension by ABC with support. In a strong monologue, Meyers took A Closer Look at censorship and free speech in Donald Trump's America.

"Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he's doing the opposite," said Meyers, calling out Kimmel's suspension. "This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There's a reason free speech is in the very First Amendment. It stands above all others."

8. Kimmel's record-breaking return monologue

A week after his "indefinite" suspension by ABC, widespread backlash, and an impactful Disney+ and Hulu boycott, Kimmel's show was reinstated on Sept. 24 — and his returning monologue smashed viewership records. Kimmel shouted out his fellow talk show hosts Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert.

The monologue become Kimmel's most viewed YouTube monologue of all time less than a day after it went live — right now, it's sitting at 23 million views.

"This show is not important," said Kimmel in his monologue. "What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this…. Our freedom to speak is what [talk show hosts in other countries] admire most about this country. And that's something I'm embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air, and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air.

"That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American, and it is so dangerous."