{"id":657931,"date":"2026-05-22T06:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657931\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T06:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:22:09","slug":"the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-finale-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657931\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Late Show With Stephen Colbert\u2019 Finale Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tStephen Colbert<\/a> said goodbye to The Late Show<\/a> after more than 10 years and more than 1,800 episodes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe comedian kicked off his final show Thursday with an earnest piece to camera before Paul McCartney<\/a> joined as his final guest after the likes of Bryan Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows and Tig Notaro offered to help.<\/p>\n

\n\tMcCartney was his sole guest on the final-ever Late Show, but the CBS<\/a> series packed its finale with more guests including Colbert\u2019s late-night peers John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Andy Cohen as well as Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Elvis Costello.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis show\u2026 I want you to know this show has been a joy for us to do for you,\u201d Colbert started. \u201cIn fact, we call this show The Joy Machine. We call it The Joy Machine because to do this many shows it has to be a machine, but the thing is, if you choose to do with joy, it doesn\u2019t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears, and I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other, and how much we mean to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe referenced his old show on Comedy Central. \u201cOn night one of The Colbert Report, back in the day, I said, \u2018Anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news at you\u2019. And I realized pretty soon in this job that our job over here was different. We were here to feel the news with you, and I don\u2019t know about you, but I sure have felt [the news] and I just want to let all y\u2019all know, in here and out there, how important you\u2019ve been to what we have done. The energy that you\u2019ve given us, we sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you for the last 11 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore joking about OnlyFans, Colbert noted the history of the Ed Sullivan Theater. \u201cWe\u2019ve been honored to have been just a small part of it, Nichols and May played on the stage. The Beatles made their American debut here, and, backstage, Elvis used the bathroom and didn\u2019t die,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n\tColbert has been on an elongated goodbye tour since CBS made the decision to axe his show and the entire late-night franchise<\/a> 10 months ago.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tCanceled three weeks before David Ellison officially took control of Paramount, the network stressed that it was \u201cpurely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night\u201d and \u201cis not related in any way to the show\u2019s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.\u201d But since the cancellation came days after Colbert called Paramount Global\u2019s $16 million settlement of Donald Trump\u2019s lawsuit\u00a0a \u201cbig fat bribe,\u201d<\/a> it\u2019s been hard for many to believe the two things were unrelated.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Late Show\u00a0began in August 1993 with David Letterman as host, when he moved over from NBC after he didn\u2019t get\u00a0The Tonight Show\u00a0gig.\u00a0Letterman retired from the show in May 2015<\/a>, and Colbert, who had previously starred on\u00a0The Daily Show\u00a0and\u00a0The Colbert Report,\u00a0took over in September 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tStar Cameos\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring Colbert\u2019s monologue tonight, there were a number of celebrity cameos including Cranston, Rudd and Meadows.<\/p>\n

\n\tCranston started things off by asking if he wanted a \u201csurprise celebrity cameo popping up out of nowhere.\u201d \u201cNo, Bryan, those always feel kind of forced,\u201d Colbert replied.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMaybe I could be your last guest,\u201d the Breaking Bad star added. \u201cThat would be great, Bryan. The thing is, we already have a pretty special one lined up,\u201d Colbert replied.<\/p>\n

\n\tNext up was Rudd, who started interrupting the host.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m just curious when our interview starts? I have an extremely long poem I want to recite, and I don\u2019t want to run out of time,\u201d Rudd said. The I Love You Man star added that he\u2019d brought a gift, which turned out to be five bananas rather than a gold watch.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinally, it was Colbert\u2019s old Second City pal Meadows. \u201cI was just explaining to Paul Rudd that for your last guest, you wanted someone you go back with, so we could talk about the good old days when you and I were doing Second City together,\u201d the Mean Girls star said. \u201cIt\u2019s not you either, Tim,\u201d Colbert replied.<\/p>\n

\n\tNotaro also showed up after the commercial break but she didn\u2019t think she\u2019d be a guest.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI just like to be at historic events. I was at the Obama inauguration, the moon landing and whatever this is,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI mean, it\u2019s nice of you to be here to support me for my last show,\u201d Colbert replied.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is your last show?\u201d she asked. \u201cHow did you not know that?\u201d \u201cI have a very full life, Stephen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHere\u2019s the deal,\u201d added Colbert. \u201cIt\u2019s our last show because we were canceled, and I don\u2019t really want to talk about it right now. We\u2019ll get into it during my interview as the last guest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat last guest was not Reynolds, either.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRyan, it\u2019s great to see you, but I hate to tell you, buddy, you\u2019re not my last guest,\u201d Colbert said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOuchy,\u201d the Deadpool star said. \u201cOkay. Well, you know, in that case, I\u2019m just happy to be here, and pay my respects to the one of the world\u2019s greatest entertainers on his last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tColbert looked pleased. \u201cI was talking about your keyboardist, Corey Bernhard,\u201d Reynolds deadpanned.<\/p>\n

\t\tNo Pope, But Someone From A Band \u201cMore Popular Than Jesus\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore introducing his final guest, Colbert referenced the rumor (or wish) that Pope Leo XIV would be his final interview.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy guest tonight is not just perfect, he is in fact infallible, please welcome all the way from Vatican\u2026\u201d he started.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe final guest was, as revealed by Deadline<\/a> earlier today, in fact Paul McCartney.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tStephen Colbert and guest Paul McCartney<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Kowalchyk\/CBS<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was just in the area, I was doing some errands,\u201d McCartney joked before giving Colbert a framed photo of The Beatles playing the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1964. \u201cYou\u2019re better than The Beatles,\u201d Colbert joked about the inscription.<\/p>\n

\n\tColbert asked the musician what he remembers of that day. He noted that he can still hear the girls screaming on the balcony and that Sullivan was a \u201creally cool guy.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019d never been to America. We come here, and we people said this is like the biggest show,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMcCartney then got a political dig in.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAmerica\u2019s where all the music we loved came from, all the rock and roll, the blues, and the whole thing, even going back to Fred Astaire, it was all from America. So, that\u2019s what we thought, America was just the land of the free, the greatest democracy\u2026 Still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe rest of the McCartney interview seemed like most of Colbert\u2019s usual interviews, with the musician plugging his new record The Boys of Dungeon Lane, telling stories of growing up in Liverpool, telling Apple\u2019s Tim Cook off for his iPhone updates and talking about Paul Mescal playing him in Sam Mendes\u2019 upcoming series of Beatles movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tColbert asked McCartney if he had any rituals from when he\u2019s done with a show.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYeah, we normally sort of get on a bus and do what we call a runner, and I have a cheese and pickle sandwich,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\tA Black Hole Full Of Late-Night Hosts\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a pre-recorded piece tonight, Colbert found a black (or green) hole.<\/p>\n

\n\tNeil DeGrasse Tyson told him it was an interdimensional worm hole.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a huge problem, you see, the fabric of the universe is underpinned by an immutable set of physical laws. Two contradictory realities cannot co-exist without rupturing the space-time continuum,\u201d the scientist said. \u201cWell, for instance, if a show is No. 1 on late-night and it also gets canceled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey canceled Gutfeld,\u201d said Colbert.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo your cancellation has created a width in the comedy variety talk continuum and if it grows all of late-night television could be destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThen it was Jon Stewart\u2019s turn, who said that he was there on behalf of Paramount. \u201cThey wanted me to read this statement. I\u2019ve gotta do what they say because you know I\u2019m not the one who got canceled for stealing printer cartridges,\u201d The Daily Show host joked.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cParamount strongly believes in covering both sides of any black hole that is swallowing everything we know and love, and a coverage must also include the positive aspects of the insatiable emptiness,\u201d he read before Watch What Happens Live\u2019s Cohen was swept into the hole.<\/p>\n

\n\tThen Colbert\u2019s Strike Force Five friends Meyers, Oliver, Kimmel and \u201cHandsome\u201d Jimmy Fallon showed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe came to say we\u2019re gonna miss you. Late-night is not gonna be the same without you,\u201d said Kimmel. \u201cWithout you, where will Americans turn to see a middle-aged white man make jokes about the news,\u201d added Meyers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cActually, one of these holes opened at my show last year, but it went away after about three days,\u201d Kimmel joked.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt some point, this may come for all of our shows, but Stephen, what\u2019s important to remember is tonight it is gonna eat you,\u201d added Oliver.<\/p>\n

\t\tA Final Musical Performance\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/a> and Louis Cato and The Great Big Joy Machine with musical guests Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Kowalchyk\/CBS<\/p>\n

\n\tColbert closed out the show with some music.<\/p>\n

\n\tCostello turned up to play \u201cJump Up,\u201d a track from 1977 with Colbert singing alongside his former bandleader Jon Batiste on piano and his current bandleader Louis Cato joining Costello on guitar.<\/p>\n

\n\tThen it was the show\u2019s final ever musical performance. McCartney played The Beatles\u2019 1967 single \u201cHello, Goodbye\u201d (\u201cYou say, \u2018Goodbye\u2019\/and I say, \u2018Hello, hello, hello\u2019 \u201d) before the audience and Colbert\u2019s friends and family joined him on stage.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was McCartney, in the end, that pulled the plug on The Late Show, forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert said goodbye to The Late Show after more than 10 years and more than 1,800 episodes.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[991,88,13501,10674,16522,10675],"class_list":["post-657931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cbs","tag-entertainment","tag-paul-mccartney","tag-stephen-colbert","tag-the-late-show","tag-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}