When Stephen Colbert stepped behind the desk of CBS’ “The Late Show” on Sept. 8, 2015, viewers didn’t entirely know what to expect.
Colbert had spent the previous 10 years playing a bombastic Bill O’Reilly-type commentator on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” With the move to CBS, Colbert let loose with his own personality.
Eleven seasons and more than 1,800 episodes later, CBS is pulling the plug, and Colbert will vacate the Ed Sullivan Theater after his final show on May 21. From the rise of Trump (twice) to the pandemic to the Jan. 6 riot, Colbert helped everyday Americans process this most disruptive period of culture and politics. Here are six “Late Show” moments when Colbert more than rose to the occasion.
Joe Biden interview
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Sept. 10, 2015
Then-VP Joe Biden appeared on the third episode, barely two months after the death of his son Beau Biden from cancer. Colbert gently asked him to tell a story about Beau, and shared his debilitating grief at the loss of his father and two older brothers in a plane crash when Colbert was 10. This emotional episode demonstrated Colbert’s emerging skill as an interviewer. And it set a tone that this “Late Show” could make room for serious stuff.
John Lewis interview
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Aug. 31, 2016
On one of Season 1’s final episodes, Rep. John Lewis visited “The Late Show” to talk up his push for tougher gun control regulation in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. The civil rights leader urged viewers to get into “good trouble” through demonstrations and nonviolent protest. The segment ended with Lewis and Colbert walking over to the studio audience, where Lewis took a leap of faith and crowd-surfed through the theater.
Showtime election night specials
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During the Democratic and Republican national conventions in 2016 and 2024, Colbert delivered live shows from each host city. These episodes captured Colbert’s improv roots and taste for going out on a limb without a net. Nothing, however, was more bizarre than the election night special that Colbert hosted for Showtime on Nov. 8, 2016, when Trump’s victory shocked the world. Variety’s review described the mood as “the late-night equivalent of a wake.”
COVID KO’s the studio audience
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March 12, 2020-June 14, 2021
Colbert was never tested more than during the 15 months when he worked without a studio audience because of the pandemic. He first broadcast out of his South Carolina home, and then relocated to his office at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Colbert was in peak form when he let his anger show in a live episode that came after the extraordinary events of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters staged a riot in the Capitol.
Evie McGee Colbert appearances
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Colbert’s wife of more than 30 years has become a semi-regular on “The Late Show” in recent seasons. The two had a fun recurring bit called “First Drafts” in which they riff on the rejected first drafts of greeting cards for various occasions. Evie’s delight in being on camera is only matched by her husband’s evident love for his life partner. Colbert has also credited his wife for helping him do the show during the worst of the pandemic period.
Wanton destruction With David Letterman
Image Credit: Scott Kowalchyk /CBS
May 14, 2026
The previous guy to have his name on “The Late Show” door, David Letterman, loved to throw items off the roof and watch them go splat on the ground. Letterman revived his old shtick with Colbert, but this time they pointedly busted up some CBS furniture on the way out. It was a cathartic bit of silliness for fans who still don’t understand why CBS is bringing the curtain down on the No. 1 show in late night.