Fact Check: Did Stephen Colbert sign $13.5M Netflix deal for new series?
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A claim about Stephen Colbert signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Netflix is doing the rounds on social media.
It all began in late August 2025, just after CBS announced that ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ would end in May 2026.
Claim: Stephen Colbert lands $13.5 million Netflix deal for upcoming series
The rumor spread quickly on Facebook, X, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram, with posts claiming Colbert signed a $13.5 million deal for a seven-episode Netflix series, with some versions saying nine episodes.
One widely shared Facebook post from the page Humor Perspective claimed the series would chronicle Colbert’s “extraordinary journey through decades of American television history.”
That post alone received more than 200,000 reactions.
Fact Check: Stephen Colbert did not sig $13.5 million Netflix deal
There is no evidence Colbert has signed any deal with Netflix. A search across major news outlets and entertainment publications found no credible reports of such an agreement.
If a high-profile move like this had occurred, it would have been widely covered by major media organizations.
While it is always possible that Colbert could sign a deal with Netflix or another company in the future, the story published in August was entirely fabricated.
Searches of social media show the earliest version of the claim came from the Facebook page ‘Humor Perspective,’ which identifies itself as satire in its bio. The page’s administrators, who appear to be based in Vietnam, have a track record of posting exaggerated or AI-generated stories about celebrities for the purpose of driving traffic to ad-filled websites.
Snopes reached out to Netflix for confirmation and found no record of any such contract. The viral posts linking to long, inspirational-style articles about Colbert contained markers of AI-generated text, a tactic the page has used in similar fabricated stories.
AI-generated content fuels viral misleading story
Closer inspection of Humor Perspective’s content reveals a pattern of artificial intelligence use. Several other posts on the same page feature AI-created images and text, such as fabricated photos of Colbert selling vegetables at a farmer’s market, starting a pet sanctuary, or purchasing a luxury hotel one day after allegedly being kicked out of it
Although the Netflix post did not contain manipulated images, its text carried hallmarks of AI-written stories, notably a grandiose and inspirational conclusion.
The article closed with lines praising Colbert as “an enduring symbol of inspiration” and suggesting that his supposed Netflix series was “a gift fans, students and dreamers everywhere will never forget.” Such phrasing is typical of AI systems attempting to wrap up fabricated stories with inspirational flair.
The Humor Perspective page is reportedly operated by individuals in Vietnam, raising further concerns about its credibility. This detail is significant because Vietnamese-run social media pages have been linked in the past to misleading viral rumors.
