Stephen Colbert returned for his first full program after last week's announcement that CBS was canceling his “Late Show” with some supportive late-night guests, a joke about cancel culture and an extremely pointed remark directed at President Donald Trump.

CBS, citing economic issues, announced that his program would go off the air next May, news that came at a time when its corporate parent, Paramount, needs the government’s approval for a merger with...

In a statement, the CBS executives George Cheeks, Amy Reisenbach, and David Stapf insisted that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision” and—protesting so much—“not related in any way to th...