Why is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert not new tonight, April 11?

Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Image credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

After airing new episodes Monday through Wednesday this week, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has wrapped things up a day earlier than usual, as the talk show is not airing a new episode on Thursday, April 11, on CBS. What's more, while a rerun is going to be shown, that is getting a later start than usual, airing at 11:50 pm ET/PT rather than the usual 11:35 pm ET/PT. So why is there no The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on April 11?

Perhaps Colbert is a golf fan, because coverage of the 2024 Masters is behind this schedule shift. Golf's first major of the year teed off on Thursday, April 11, and while live first and second-round coverage is airing on ESPN, CBS is going to have a nightly highlight package airing at 11:35 pm ET/PT, when The Late Show would normally begin.

With the schedule change, The Late Show opted to take the night off, instead airing an episode that previously aired on March 13, featuring Paul Rudd, Cecilia Vega, Jon Hamm and Amy Sedaris. However, for fans of CBS's other late-night program, After Midnight, its Thursday, April 11 new episode is still airing, though also later than usual, 12:52 am ET/PT (technically Friday morning).

CBS is going to keep this little schedule tweak on Friday, April 12, but both The Late Show and After Midnight traditionally air reruns on Friday nights, so it's not replacing a new episode of The Late Show like it is on April 11.

For those interested, CBS is set to take over the live Masters coverage on Saturday, April 13, for the third round and then again on Sunday, April 14, for the final round, continuing — as Jim Nantz reminds us each spring — "a tradition unlike any other." However, if you've cut the cord from traditional live TV providers, you can stream CBS's coverage of The Masters on Paramount Plus, as long as you opt to sign up for the Paramount Plus with Showtime plan.

As of right now, CBS has not shared any details about whether or not The Late Show is going to return with new episodes next week. Usually, details on the upcoming week's slate of shows are released on Fridays.

If 11:50 pm is too late for you to stay up to watch The Late Show tonight, even with it being a rerun, you can watch episodes of The Late Show on-demand any time on Paramount Plus.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.