The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Bows Out With A Bang, Even Without The Pope

After 11 years at the helm of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert has waved goodbye to CBS as CBS waves goodbye to the 33-year-old late night talk show series. For his grand finale, Colbert decided to have some fun while still taking a handful of opportunities to poke a few eyes.

Since 1993, The Late Show has been a staple of the late night talk show circuit, with David Letterman creating the series after his acrimonious departure from NBC. Letterman hosted until 2015, at which point, Stephen Colbert was given the reins, trading in his fictional, conservative-parody persona on The Colbert Report for the real Stephen.

CBS announced it would be ending The Late Show in July 2025, with Colbert’s upcoming season 11 to be his last. Officially, CBS said the decision was “purely a financial decision” (via Deadline). However, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had been a ratings winner for years, and he leaves his desk as the leader in viewership for the past nine seasons, including in the key 18-49 demographic (via Forbes).

Unnamed sources at CBS claim that The Late Show was losing $40 million a year with a staff of roughly 200 (via WSJ). Colbert contends that in 2023, CBS offered him a five-year contract renewal (he agreed to a three-year renewal), meaning something changed in CBS’s calculations between 2023 and July 2025 (via NYT).

The decision to cancel The Late Show came while CBS’s owner, Paramount+, was closing a merger deal with Skydance, which required Federal Communications Commission approval. A few days earlier, Paramount+ settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump. On July 14, 2025, Colbert referred to the settlement as “a big fat bribe” while on air.

President Trump responded on Truth Social after the cancellation was announced, writing (via Variety), “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!“

The politics and controversy of his show’s cancellation could have set up for a fiery finale, but Colbert decided to air a relatively tame episode, thanking the audience and viewers at home. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finale was a gentle, joyful sendoff that felt like Colbert getting to do what he loved most, where he loved it most.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Series Finale Recap

Until the last 20 minutes of the episode, the Late Show finale was fairly reminiscent of the typical Late Show episodes. Colbert thanked the audience for staying with him, and when they booed his acknowledgment of being canceled, he attempted to quiet them, saying they had been fortunate to have 11 years.

Colbert went into his monologue and told some jokes from his desk. As he went on, he was interrupted by celebrity guests in the audience, including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro, and Ryan Reynolds, each asking if they were going to be his final guest.

Leaning into a rumor that was circulating in the lead-up to the finale, Colbert joked that Pope Leo XIV was supposed to be his final guest but was refusing to come out of the green room. The Chicago hot dogs he asked for were apparently subpar. Then out walks Paul McCartney, 62 years after The Beatles played at The Ed Sullivan Theater, the same stage he and Colbert chat on.

McCartney charms, but his interview is eventually interrupted by significant technical difficulties that serve as the lead-in to a pre-taped segment where Colbert goes backstage to find a glowing green wormhole set on devouring his show. Neil deGrasse Tyson falls in, Jon Stewart gives Colbert some words of wisdom, and “Strike Force Five” (Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon) encourages Colbert to complete his show in the face of destruction. It’s coming for everyone after all, they say.

Colbert does go back to the stage and sings with Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste, and Louis Cato. The pretape ends, and the singers join the stage for a rendition of The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” with the show’s crew and Colbert’s family joining to clap along. At the end of the episode, the pre-tape resumes, and we see McCartney throwing a huge switch that expands the glowing green hole, which absorbs The Ed Sullivan Theater, shrinking it into a snow globe, like the classic ending of St. Elsewhere​​​​​.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Finale Was A Gentle, Joyful Episode, With A Few Barbs

Those hoping for Stephen Colbert to spend his finale clapping back at the forces that have ushered him off the stage might be disappointed with this episode. From the start, Colbert says he wants the episode to feel like any other from his show, with a focus on the jokes and the audience.

Still, there are a few barbs here and there, like Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine purposefully playing music from the Peanuts, earning CBS a hefty fine. Colbert jokes with McCartney that orange skin is back in style now. In the pre-tape, Stewart gives the most poignant criticism, reading a fictional letter from Paramount+ to Colbert, which urges him to cover both sides of the wormhole that’s eating everything. It’s not fair to only focus on the fact that it’s destroying everything it touches; there are two sides after all.

Colbert’s finale is standard, save for the celebrity cameos, until the final 20 minutes and the pre-tape, but it’s there and on stage with McCartney, where Colbert appeared to be having the most fun. With a dark specter hanging over him and late night television, Colbert decided to ignore it while he still can and show viewers that fun and joy can’t be ripped away so easily.

How Stephen Colbert Has Addressed His Late Show Exit

Despite all the controversy surrounding the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert has declined to comment on why he thinks the show has been canceled. In the last year, Colbert has hinted at why he thinks the show is ending, but it’s been his contemporary late night hosts and other celebrities who have pointed the finger at CBS and Donald Trump.

Letterman called CBS, “lying weasels” (via NYT). Bruce Springsteen said during his May appearance on The Late Show, “I am here in support tonight of Stephen because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke.”

For the past year, Stephen Colbert has avoided casting blame and has instead attempted not to take his time on the show for granted. He did seem to regret that The Late Show itself would be replaced without anyone taking over the desk (via EW). Colbert said in his recent New York Times interview that he has no interest in having a contentious relationship with CBS, whom he called “great partners”. He did say that, “I have eyeballs and ears, and I think calling late night partisan is just roughing the ref.”

What’s Next For Stephen Colbert And The Late Show

Stephen Colbert is currently working on a script for Warner Bros. for an upcoming Lord of the Rings film tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. He’s been getting calls about doing other projects, but says he will need to step back and think for a while before he makes his next move.

As for The Late Show, the 33-year-old series has come to an end. No new host is taking over, nor is another late night talk show replacing it. Instead, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen will take its place at the 11:35 PM time slot. Comics Unleashed is a comedy panel show featuring stand-ups and comedians riffing on a couch together.

Stephen Colbert has been a fixture of television since he was a correspondent on The Daily Show, and before that, he was a writer and performer on everything from Saturday Night Live to The Dana Carvey Show. There’s a big hole on network television without him and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but Colbert’s probably not going to sit on his hands for long.

Showrunner

Christopher Andrew Licht

Directors

Jake Plunkett, Jim Hoskinson, Ballard C. Boyd

Writers

Emmy Blotnick, Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert