Comedy Central has mysteriously suspended production on the " The Colbert Report," the biting political satire hosted by comedian Stephen Colbert.

Ticketholders to Wednesday night's show, many of whom were already at the New York City studio, received a last-minute email cancelling the taping "due to unforeseen circumstances."

The network aired a rerun Wednesday night, leading with out-of-date news about onetime presidential candidate Herman Cain.

Network spokesman Steve Albani said the show would suspend production for at least the remainder of the week.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the show will air repeat episodes on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16," Albani said in a statement to ABC News.

On Wednesday morning, the show promoted what would have been on that night's program.

"Watch Stephen help shape the message of Colbert Super PAC with the help of political strategist Frank Luntz," read the last tweet from the Colbert Report Twitter account, suggesting the cancellation was sudden.

Colbert himself, who routinely tweets, has not updated his account since Tuesday.

"The Colbert Report" had never before suspended production, according to comedy news blog the Beat. Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," from which the Colbert was spun off, has cancelled production only twice, once after the death of a staff member, and once when host Jon Stewart became a father.

Colbert's comedy has become particularly insightful this election season, shining a light on the relationship between presidential candidates and the super PACs that finance them.

Calls to Comedy Central and Colbert's personal spokeswoman were not returned.