{"id":3102,"date":"2026-05-22T05:11:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/how-stephen-colbert-signed-off-in-final-late-show-episode\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T05:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:11:23","slug":"how-stephen-colbert-signed-off-in-final-late-show-episode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/how-stephen-colbert-signed-off-in-final-late-show-episode\/","title":{"rendered":"How Stephen Colbert signed off in final &#8216;Late Show&#8217; episode"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/late-show.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>One last sign-off. <\/p>\n<p>Stephen Colbert went out with a bang hosting his final episode of \u201cThe Late Show\u201d Thursday night after <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/07\/18\/entertainment\/stephen-colbert-announces-cancellation-of-late-show-franchise-after-33-years\/\">CBS canceled the program<\/a> last year<\/p>\n<p>The host brought out multiple surprise guests including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro, Ryan Reynolds and more, all of whom thought they were going to be Colbert\u2019s final guest.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Stephen Colbert hosted his final episode of \u201cThe Late Show\u201d in New York City on Thursday. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Colbert (pictured above) welcomed multiple surprise guests on the final episode. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>During his final monologue, Colbert, 62, said goodbye to the live audience inside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City and fans watching at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis show has been joy for us to do for you,\u201d Colbert began, adding the show has been dubbed the \u201cJoy Machine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI 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 Colbert added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe love doing the show for you, but what we really love, is doing the show with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He then played a montage of other late night shows poking fun at Colbert and the show before the show\u2019s iconic intro from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had so much fun in this theater,\u201d Colbert added, before showing a \u201cfirst draft\u201d of his goodbye card, where he asked \u201cHow do you start an OnlyFans?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Colbert added they were planning on doing a big \u201cspecial,\u201d but he decided to do a regular episode instead, though he was interrupted by Bryan Cranston.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert joked that celebrity cameos feel \u201ckind of forced,\u201d but Cranston suggested he could be the last guest, though Colbert said he already had a pretty special guest lined up, as he stormed off and threw his hat.<\/p>\n<p>He continued to do a few more monologue bits before he was interrupted again by Paul Rudd, who said he has a poem he wanted to recite, but Colbert broke the news to him that he\u2019s not the final guest.<\/p>\n<p>Tim Meadows told Paul to accept the fact he would not be the final guest, assuming it would be him, since they went back to the Second City days years ago, as Meadows stormed off and took Rudd\u2019s bananas.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The 62-year-old host also got emotional while delivering his final monologue. <span class=\"credit\">Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After the monologue, he delivered a final installment of Meanwhile, breaking down more news stories about home distilling and a lawsuit involving Peanuts music.<\/p>\n<p>His band \u2013 Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine \u2013 then proceeded to play some of the music, as Colbert joked, \u201cI hope this doesn\u2019t cost CBS any money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tig Notaro was spotted in the audience, stating she likes to be there during historic events, and she didn\u2019t think she would be the final guest.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan Reynolds then interrupted, believing he was going to be the final guest, but Colbert said he would not be, with Colbert revealing the \u201cvery special final guest\u201d would be unveiled after the commercial.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>After the monologue, he delivered a final installment of Meanwhile, breaking down more news stories about home distilling and a lawsuit involving Peanuts music.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The final guest supposed to have been none other than Pope Leo XIV, but a miscommunication on his \u201crider\u201d lead to him cancelling the appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Paul McCartney then gamely arrived and volunteered to be the final guest, saying he was running some \u201cerrands\u201d and he brought him something.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert then pulled out a framed, autographed photograph of The Beatles during their historic 1964 performance at the Ed Sullivan Theater.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to come back here. I always remember the girls in the balcony. Mr. Sullivan was really nice, a really good guy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople said this was the biggest show, but to tell you the truth, we had never heard of it,\u201d he said, adding that the make-up girls made him \u201cbright orange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked if they were pleased with how it went, McCartney said, \u201cWe\u2019re live, and we sound good, man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He admitted, \u201cWe were a little bit nervous, but we were young kids and full of ourselves. You know, it was very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was their first ever visit to America, adding, \u201cAmerica is where all the music we loved came from, so that\u2019s what we thought of America, the land of the free, the greatest democracy, that\u2019s what it was, and hopefully still is.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Paul McCartney then gamely arrived and volunteered to be the final guest, saying he was running some \u201cerrands\u201d and he brought him something.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colbert then pulled out a framed, autographed photograph of The Beatles during their historic 1964 performance at the Ed Sullivan Theater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before he was going to continue his interview with McCartney, a bizarre technical glitch occurred with a bizarre graphic appearing on the digital backdrop behind him.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy discussed his upcoming album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which is set for release on May 29, inspired by his neighborhood growing up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne day, the boys, a couple of big strapping guys decided to mug me. I was little and scrawny and they were big and ugly and they wanted my watch. However, I reported them to the cops and I got my watch back,\u201d McCartney said.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert added he has a lot of superstitions before a show, with McCartney adding that he always has a \u201ccheese and pickle sandwich\u201d after a show, \u201caccompanied by a margarita.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McCartney admitted that fans often misinterpret his songs to him, adding, \u201c\u2018Strawberry Fields,\u2019 the beginning says, \u2018Living is easy with the eyes closed,&#8217;\u201d but some people think it\u2019s \u201cLiving is easy with nince clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to come back here. I always remember the girls in the balcony. Mr. Sullivan was really nice, a really good guy,\u201d he said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Colbert tried to continue with the interview when another glitch happened, as they pretended to take another commercial break as Colbert went to investigate the glitch.<\/p>\n<p>He went backstage and found a huge green portal that started sucking objects into it, including his Apple watch, when Neil deGrasse Tyson arrived, saying it was an inter-dimensional wormhole.<\/p>\n<p>He says that Colbert\u2019s cancellation created a rift that could lead to the end of late night forever, though Colbert ended up pushing Tyson into the wormhole.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert asked if there was a mentor figure around, which lead to Jon Stewart arriving, reading a statement from Paramount.<\/p>\n<p>Stewart wondered if he might have been in denial about his cancellation, leading to a Colbert spit-take.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert then said he loved Stewart and he did a spit-take in his face, when the rest of the late-night hosts arrived \u2013 Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver \u2013 who had some words of wisdom to help Colbert process the end of his beloved late-night talk show.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert returned and told some more jokes before the green wormhole arrived again, sucking up everything and everyone from the theater, with Colbert throwing it to commercial before he disappeared.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colbert tried to continue with the interview when another glitch happened, as they pretended to take another commercial break as Colbert went to investigate the glitch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>He went backstage and found a huge green portal that started sucking objects into it, including his Apple watch, when Neal DeGrassed Tyson arrived, saying it was an interdimensional wormhole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colbert asked if there was a mentor figure around, which lead to Jon Stewart arriving, reading a statement from Paramount.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colbert then said he loved Stewart and he did a spit-take in his face, when the rest of the late-night hosts arrived \u2013 Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver \u2013 who had some words of wisdom to help Colbert process the end of his beloved late-night talk show.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Colbert was seen in a desolate, echo-y space, where he started singing \u201cJump Up\u201d by Elvis Costello, joined by his bandleader Louis Gato, Jon Batiste and Costello himself.<\/p>\n<p>They cut back to the studio with McCartney, Costello, Batiste and Colbert singing The Beatles classic \u201cHello, Goodbye\u201d with his full house band.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert\u2019s family took to the stage with his full staff, as they clapped along with the song, filling up the balcony above and the full stage.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert then snuck away to pull the breaker for the studio, instead giving the honors to McCartney, and when he did, the green wormhole returned, sucking the entire Ed Sullivan Theater into it, producing a tiny snow globe with the theater inside, as the final episode came to a close.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Colbert was seen in a desolate, echo-y space, where he started singing \u201cJump Up\u201d by Elvis Costello, joined by his bandleader Louis Gato, Jon Batiste and Costello himself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They cut back to the studio with McCartney, Costello, Batiste and Colbert singing The Beatles classic \u201cHello, Goodbye\u201d with his full house band.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Colbert took over \u201cThe Late Show\u201d in 2015 from David Letterman, who retired after more than 20 years. George Clooney was Colbert\u2019s first guest.<\/p>\n<p>Letterman, 79, returned to the show last week and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/15\/media\/david-letterman-and-stephen-colbert-trash-cbs-furniture-in-rooftop-revenge-stunt\/\">unloaded on CBS for axing the series<\/a>. He and Colbert also joined forces for a segment where they tossed furniture off the roof of the Manhattan theater.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Letterman, Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama and Christopher Nolan stopped by the \u201cLate Show\u201d for Colbert\u2019s final episodes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><figcaption>The very first guest Colbert (pictured above in 2017) had on his show was George Clooney. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>In July 2025, CBS announced the end of \u201cThe Late Show\u201d after 33 years. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Colbert announced the end of his late-night show after nearly 33 years in July 2025,\u00a0telling viewers\u00a0that he found out about the decision the previous evening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not being replaced, this is all just going away,\u201d he told the audience.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, CBS claimed they canceled the series as a \u201cpurely financial decision\u201d\u00a0and \u201cnot related in any way to the show\u2019s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before the cancellation news, Colbert criticized CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount, regarding its $16 million settlement with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/07\/18\/world-news\/trump-calls-for-immediate-end-to-unjust-trial-of-former-brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0over a controversial \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/06\/28\/media\/60-minutes-kamala-harris-interview-at-center-of-trump-lawsuit-runs-afoul-of-cronkite-era-cbs-guidelines\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the Skydance Media-Paramount merger.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Colbert (pictured above on the show in 2017) revealed that he found out about the cancellation the night before. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Colbert told viewers, \u201cI\u2019m not being replaced, this is all just going away.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Diane Cohen \/ BACKGRID<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During one of his July 2025 monologues, Colbert said, \u201cAs someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended, and I don\u2019t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut just taking a stab at it, I\u2019d say $16 million would help,\u201d he jokingly added.<\/p>\n<p>Before hosting his final show, Colbert <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/stephen-colbert-reflects-the-late-show-end-whats-next-exclusive-11977797\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">admitted to People<\/a> he <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/19\/celebrity-news\/why-stephen-colbert-thinks-late-show-cancellation-saved-his-life\/\">thinks the cancellation \u201csaved [his] life.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes a lot of bone marrow to do the show every day, and now I\u2019ll be stepping down with enough time, enough energy to do other things that I want to do,\u201d\u00a0he shared.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert also said he\u2019s looking forward to being an empty nester with wife Evelyn McGee Colbert, with whom he shares adult children Madeleine, 31, Peter, 28, and John, 24.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Before his final episode, Colbert (seen above on \u201cThe Late Show\u201d in 2016) said that CBS\u2019 decision \u201csaved [his] life.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Colbert (seen above) has been tapped to write an upcoming \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d movie with his son Peter. <span class=\"credit\">CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As for his next projects, Colbert has <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/03\/25\/celebrity-news\/stephen-colbert-scorched-for-writing-new-lord-of-the-rings-movie\/\">been tapped to write an upcoming \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d film <\/a>with son Peter \u2014 but he told People he\u2019s still plotting his future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I don\u2019t have much better of an answer than most college seniors do, which is I\u2019ve got to finish this first, because it takes almost the entirety of my brain to do this show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we\u2019ll land this plane and we\u2019ll check out the view from there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/22\/celebrity-news\/how-stephen-colbert-signed-off-in-final-late-show-episode\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One last sign-off. Stephen Colbert went out with a bang hosting his final episode of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/late-show.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}