The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will air its final episode on May 21 after it was canceled by CBS and Stephen has lined up a few late-night hosts as guests in the final episodes
13:18 ET, 08 May 2026Updated 13:19 ET, 08 May 2026
Stephen Colbert will converse with other late-night legends(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Stephen Colbert is set to welcome five legendary late-night hosts, both past and present, to his show as it approaches its final broadcasts.
The 61-year-old comedian has assembled a notable lineup of former and current late-night personalities as his program, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, counts down to its May 21 finale. CBS pulled the plug on the long-running series last year. Colbert will sit down with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver.
Much like Stephen himself, all five guests have been outspoken critics of Donald Trump and have faced attacks from the president in return. Late Show original host David Letterman will appear on May 14, while Kimmel, Fallon, Meyers, and Oliver will join Colbert on May 11. The latter four currently front their own late-night programs on ABC, NBC, and HBO respectively.
READ MORE: David Letterman brands CBS ‘lying weasels’ over excuse for canceling The Late ShowREAD MORE: Stephen Colbert’s eight-word response after finding out The Late Show was canceled
Kimmel, Fallon, Seth, and John previously teamed up with Stephen back in 2023 to co-host a limited podcast series called Strike Force Five, which launched during the concurrent Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The revenue generated from the podcast was directed toward supporting the staff of all five hosts’ respective shows, who had stopped working in compliance with the striking unions.
Stephen will be interviewing David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver as guests on his show(Image: Disney via Getty Images)
Alongside those prominent figures appearing during his final weeks, Colbert will welcome John Krasinski, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pedro Pascal and Tom Hanks. The late-night program will also showcase several unique segments in upcoming episodes: Kids Pitch with Jenny Slate, Liam Neeson, John Oliver, Isa Briones, Taylor Dearden and The Avett Brothers; a Broadway showcase featuring Annaleigh Ashford, Christopher Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Ben Platt and Patrick Wilson; former president Barack Obama participating in The Colbert Questionert, reports the Mirror US.
In July 2025, CBS revealed that The Late Show would be ending. The broadcaster maintained at that time (and continues to maintain) that the choice to conclude the program was monetary, insisting it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Stephen’s late-night show was canceled by CBS in July 2025(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The cancellation came just days after Stephen condemned the network’s parent corporation, then-Paramount, for its $16 million settlement with Trump.
Numerous critics have denounced CBS for their choice, viewing it as suppression and an attempt to placate Trump during the time when Paramount awaited authorization from the former reality TV personality’s Federal Communications Commission for their Skydance merger. It received approval in July 2025 and sealed the deal in August 2025.
Stephen collaborated with Kimmel, Fallon, Seth and John for a podcast to financially support their staff during the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes (Image: Getty Images North America)
David recently condemned CBS for the choice during a recent conversation with The New York Times, which was published on May 5. When questioned about whether he believes CBS’s financial claim for the cancellation, David declared they are “lying.”
“They don’t share the books with me. All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms and on and on,” David began. “TV may be not the money machine it once was. On the other hand, what about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite?”
David was the original host of The Late Show before he retired in 2015 and Stephen took over
“He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?’ I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying. Let me just add one other thing, Jason. They’re lying weasels,” the former weatherman added.
David served as the original presenter of The Show, which first aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993, before transferring to CBS and concluding in 2015. Stephen took over from the 79-year-old following his departure from the program.
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