Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Texas Senate Candidate's Late Show Appearance Canceled Amid Media Controls

2/19/2026

31 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico's planned appearance on The Late Show was canceled.
CBS's legal team cited the FCC's equal-time rules.
Stephen Colbert revealed the cancellation came after those rules were cited.
Talarico criticized the Republican Party for seeking to control media narratives, calling it "top-down cancel culture."
CBS plans to end The Late Show in May for financial reasons amid a merger with Skydance Media.

1 of 1

Story summary

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico's planned appearance on The Late Show was canceled.
CBS's legal team cited the FCC's equal-time rules.
Stephen Colbert revealed the cancellation came after those rules were cited.
Talarico criticized the Republican Party for seeking to control media narratives, calling it "top-down cancel culture."
CBS plans to end The Late Show in May for financial reasons amid a merger with Skydance Media.