{"id":338982,"date":"2026-05-22T17:13:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=338982"},"modified":"2026-05-22T17:13:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:43:54","slug":"stephen-colberts-rivals-appear-in-late-show-series-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/stephen-colberts-rivals-appear-in-late-show-series-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert\u2019s Rivals Appear in \u2018Late Show\u2019 Series Finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stephen Colbert<\/strong> officially said goodbye to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/em> after greater than 10 years as its host.<\/p>\n

The comedian, 62, used his trademark humor through the Thursday, May 21, series finale of the CBS late-night show akin to including an amusing sketch about finding a worm hole backstage that was able to suck him away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think my show would end like this,\u201d Colbert joked.<\/p>\n

Within the segment, Colbert was approached by fellow talk show hosts, John Oliver<\/strong>, Seth Meyers,<\/strong> Jimmy Kimmel<\/strong> and Jimmy Fallon<\/strong> for a final farewell.<\/p>\n

When Colbert questioned why not one of the others were being pulled into the worm hole, Kimmel referenced his own issues.<\/p>\n

He quipped, \u201cYou already know what? Actually, one among these holes opened at my show last 12 months, nevertheless it went away after about three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the course of the sketch, Colbert remarked, \u201cNow it looks prefer it\u2019s the tip, and I wish it wasn\u2019t, but that\u2019s not for me to make your mind up.\u201d<\/p>\n

His humor appeared in other parts of the ultimate show as he joked about starting an OnlyFans as his next profession move and getting the band to play expensive music that CBS could have to fork out for.<\/p>\n

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\n Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.<\/span> (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The comedian went full circle as he ended the show, enlisting Paul McCartney<\/strong> as his final celebrity interview amongst a handful of star cameos.<\/p>\n

Colbert had opened his final show by reflecting the popular culture history of his show\u2019s filming location, the Ed Sullivan Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be a lot history here within the Ed Sullivan Theater, and we\u2019ve been honored to have been only a small a part of it. Nichols and May played on the stage, The Beatles made their American debut here,\u201d Colbert said within the opening monologue.<\/p>\n

He then joked, \u201cAnd that is true. That is true. Backstage, Elvis<\/strong> used the lavatory and didn\u2019t die.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Paul McCartney and Stephen Colbert.<\/span> (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The episode featured a string of star cameos including Bryan Cranston<\/strong>, Paul Rudd<\/strong>, Tim Meadows<\/strong>, Tig Notaro<\/strong>, Ryan Reynolds<\/strong>, Elijah Wood<\/strong> and Andy Cohen<\/strong> with McCartney as the ultimate on-stage chat.<\/p>\n

McCartney, 83, shared his memories of first stepping foot contained in the theater in 1964 as a part of The Beatles after they were \u201cyoung kids\u201d and \u201ctype of stuffed with ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Sullivan<\/strong> was very nice. He was a extremely cool guy,\u201d McCartney recalled. \u201cI mean, you recognize, we\u2019d never been to America. We come here and folks said, \u2018That is like the most important show,\u2019 And we\u2019re telling the reality, we\u2019d never heard him, you recognize, in England. But yeah, so it was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the course of the interview, Colbert quoted lyrics from a poignant latest McCartney song called \u201cDays We Left Behind,\u201d which read, \u201cNothing stays the identical\/ Nobody must cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert appeared to allude to the tip of his show, noting, \u201cI\u2019ve been eager about change recently.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCartney closed out the show by performing The Beatles Nineteen Sixties classic, \u201cHello, Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout his final month at The Late Show<\/em>, Colbert welcomed a slew of A-list guests, including\u00a0his Late Show<\/em> predecessor, David Letterman<\/strong>, and President Barack Obama<\/strong>. Earlier this week, Colbert was joined by Jon Stewart<\/strong>, Bruce Springsteen<\/strong>, Steven Spielberg<\/strong> and David Byrne<\/strong> as he prepared to conclude the series.<\/p>\n

Colbert took over because the host of The Late Show<\/em> in September 2015 after Letterman, 79, retired following his 22-season stint within the role from August 1993 to May 2015. Colbert then helmed the Emmy-winning series for 11 seasons.<\/p>\n

Colbert announced The Late Show<\/em>\u2019s cancellation in July 2025. Because the studio audience reacted with boos, he responded, \u201cI share your feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do need to say that the parents at CBS have been great partners,\u201d he noted on the time. \u201cAnd I\u2019m grateful to the audience, you, who’ve joined us every night, in here, on the market and all all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert then thanked his crew. \u201cWe get to do that show for one another on daily basis all day,\u201d he said, adding that he wished \u201cany person else\u201d could replace him after his exit.<\/p>\n

CBS executives addressed the cancellation news on the time, claiming the choice was purely a \u201cfinancial\u201d one and never \u201crelated in any solution to the show\u2019s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.\u201d The move got here after Paramount Global settled a lawsuit with President Donald Trump<\/strong> ahead of Skydance Media\u2019s acquisition of the corporate, which Colbert criticized on the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t dispute their rationale [that it was for financial reasons],\u201d Colbert told The Latest York Times<\/em> in an April interview. \u201cI do make jokes about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn\u2019t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me,\u201d he continued. \u201cSince the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert has yet to publicly share his plans for what\u2019s next for him after The Late Show<\/em> ends, but he shall be taking a step back from the news cycle \u2014 not less than temporarily.<\/p>\n

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