Stephen Colbert returned to The Late Show Monday night with his first on-air reaction to the FCC’s approval of the Paramount–Skydance merger—and wasted no time turning the entire saga into a comic roasting of his corporate overlords, Trump’s allies, and the merger’s bizarre side effects.
“There was some big news from the world of entertainment this weekend,” Colbert began, before reading a headline from Fox News: “Trump’s FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger, following the $16 million Trump settlement and Colbert’s cancellation.”
“I’m canceled?!” Colbert exclaimed, mock-shocked. “I’m being told I already knew that, but I spent the weekend huffing airplane glue.”
The late-night host went on to mock the new merged company’s stock ticker symbol—PSKY—joking that “soon, PSKY will blast hot streaming content right in your eyes” with hits like Yellowstone, Yellowjackets, and “a full variety of water sports.” With a smirk, he predicted that PSKY would “become synonymous with number one,” before describing it as “a pitcher of warm entertainment.”
Colbert also zeroed in on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally who last week dismissed criticism of The Late Show’s cancellation by saying the left was acting like it “lost a DNC spokesperson.” Appearing on Fox News, Carr appeared to misspeak when he said “Colbert is getting cancer” (presumably he meant to say “canceled”).
Colbert deadpanned: “Colbert is getting cancer? Was that in the Paramount deal? I gotta call my agent. I have a very strict no-cancer clause!”
He then turned to a Trump Truth Social post attacking not only CBS, but ABC and NBC as well—accusing them of being arms of the Democratic Party and suggesting their broadcast licenses “could and should be revoked.”
“That’s right,” Colbert said. “First it was CBS. Now he’s going after ABC and NBC. To which I say: Come on in, Jimmy and Jimmy—the water’s warm. ’Cause of all the PSKY.”
Colbert’s contract runs through May 2026, but his show’s end was announced by CBS earlier this month. The cancellation announcement came just weeks after CBS parent Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit with Trump, raising speculation that the merger’s approval played a role. CBS insists the decision was financial.
Watch the Paramount-Skydance portion of Colbert’s Monday night monologue below:
