Conan O’Brien knows what happens later after “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” gets out of the air.

“Night television, as we have known since around 1950, will disappear,” said the former presenter of the night interview program on Saturday during his induction speech at the ceremony of the Hall of Fame of the Television Academy.

Despite his terrible prediction, O’Brien added a message of hope.

“But those voices do not go anywhere. People like Stephen Colbert have too much talent, and too essential for them to leave. It will not happen,” he said.

“Not anywhere,” O’Brien added. “Stephen is going to evolve and shine more than ever in a new format that completely controls.”

Stephen Colbert's period as host
Stephen Colbert’s period as a presenter of “The Late Show” will officially reach its end in May 2026.

News Photo Archive through Getty Images

News said he was canceling “The Late Show” in a shocking announcement last month. The show began in 1993 with presenter David Letterman, who stayed until 2015, at which time Colbert took over. The Colbert period as host will officially reach its end in May 2026.

News has said that the decision was made “purely for financial reasons in the midst of the difficult night landscape.”

For his television partner Andy Cohen, the idea of canceling the program, without giving Colbert and his team the opportunity to make changes to improve his financial situation, delegate the end for News.

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“On the other hand, they are exciting the lights completely at 11:30, what he says, is as if News was simply cooked,” Cohen said. “They are saying: ‘We have ended’.”