Stephen Colbert\u2019s viral public access spot had former bosses CBS and its parent company Paramount in a brief tizzy over the weekend, mere hours after his buzzy late-night sign-off. <\/p>\n
The longtime TV personality, 62, returned to the air on Friday evening on \u201cOnly in Monroe,\u201d a public access program in Monroe, Mich., with an hour-long late-night parody episode that featured several guests and took shots at Paramount\u2019s monopolistic aspirations<\/a> in media. Colbert, previously a one-time host of \u201cOnly in Monroe,\u201d began his episode: \u201cIt\u2019s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community before they also get acquired by Paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cOnly in Monroe\u201d episode was broadcast in southeast Michigan, the Associated Press <\/a>reported, and also published to Colbert\u2019s official YouTube page. <\/a>News of Colbert\u2019s surprise late-night spot spread online, with social media users reposting the episode in its entirety or sharing clips. Journalist and the Desk founder Matthew Keys shared the episode to his X (formerly Twitter) page, tweeting<\/a> on Sunday that he received a \u201cfrivolous\u201d copyright notice from Paramount Global. <\/p>\n CBS said in a statement shared over the holiday weekend to multiple<\/a> outlets<\/a> that the \u201cOnly in Monroe\u201d episode was \u201cfinanced and produced by CBS Studios\u201d and was posted on Colbert\u2019s YouTube page through a collaboration with Monroe Community Media and Colbert\u2019s \u201cThe Late Show\u201d YouTube channels. The network, which was home to \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert\u201d for more than a decade, said in its statement that it is \u201cregular practice\u201d to copyright-strike \u201cunauthorized websites\u201d that repost its \u201ccopyrighted content,\u201d but later added that it\u2019s walking back its actions. <\/p>\n \u201cFor this episode, we have decided to waive further enforcement of this standard industry practice until additional review,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n A representative for CBS did not immediately respond to The Times\u2019 request for comment on Tuesday. A representative for Colbert also did not immediately respond. <\/p>\n Colbert\u2019s guests on Friday included regular \u201cOnly in Monroe\u201d hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, Emmy winners Jeff Daniels and Steve Buscemi, rapper Eminem (via video call) and White Stripes rocker Jack White. Friday\u2019s broadcast ended with a literal bang, with Colbert, Daniels and White taking hammers to the talk show set and setting it ablaze. <\/p>\n \u201cSince they are no longer using this set, it would actually be helpful for me to destroy it,\u201d Colbert said, \u201cwhich is pretty great news because right now \u2014 for no particular reason \u2014 I would very much like to break something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert\u201d ended its run at CBS after 11 seasons and more than 1,800 episodes. Colbert began his late-night talk series in 2015, succeeding David Letterman. CBS announced it was canceling \u201cThe Late Show\u201d in July 2025<\/a>, with chief executive George Cheeks claiming \u201cthis is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt is not related in any way to the show\u2019s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,\u201d Cheeks added at the time. <\/p>\n CBS announced it was parting ways with Colbert, a relentless critic of President Trump, after Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by Trump for $16 million.<\/a> At the time, media mogul David Ellison\u2019s Skydance Media<\/a> was also awaiting federal approval to acquire Paramount for $8 billion. Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder, tech billionaire<\/a> and Trump ally Larry Ellison. <\/p>\n Colbert ended his CBS tenure at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday evening, joined by an impressive roster of celebrity guests including Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston, Tim Meadows, Ryan Reynolds and Paul McCartney. The \u201cLate Show\u201d time slot now hosts media mogul Byron Allen\u2019s<\/a> \u201cComics Unleashed\u201d syndicated show.<\/a><\/p>\n