Entertainment
Stephen Colbert signs off “The Late Show” one last time: “We were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years”
Stephen Colbert said goodbye to “The Late Show” Thursday night in the franchise’s finale following a 33-year run, saying he was “lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years” and never took the experience for granted.
“There is so much history here in the Ed Sullivan Theater, and we’ve been honored to have been just a small part of it,” Colbert said in his opening monologue.
In the opening of the show, Colbert emphasized the “joy” the show brought him and cast members throughout the 11 years and over 1,800 episodes.
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“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 it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears,” Colbert said. “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.”
The final show, which ran 17 minutes longer than its usual hour, was packed with surprise cameos from celebrities such as “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, comedian Tig Notaro, actors Ryan Reynolds, Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston and Don Cheadle and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
“I didn’t think my show would end like this, but still grateful,” Colbert told Stewart.
Fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver also joined Colbert on Thursday.
“We came to say we’re gonna miss you. Late night is not gonna be the same without you,” Kimmel said.
Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images
In recognition of Colbert’s final show, Kimmel and Fallon both aired reruns on Thursday.
Before the show, it was speculated that Pope Leo XIV might be Colbert’s final guest, but Colbert jokingly tried to introduce him before a cast member said Leo refused to come out of his dressing room.
The show’s actual final guest was none other than Paul McCartney.
He performed at the Ed Sullivan Theater with The Beatles during their American television debut on Feb. 9, 1964. McCartney was a guest on the show in 2019 and in 2009, when David Letterman was still the host.
Singers Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste performed Costello’s “Jump Up” as the shows musical performance. Batiste’s return to the Ed Sullivan Theater as a musical guest comes after he was the bandleader and musical director for “The Late Show” from 2015 until 2022.
Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images
In the final moments of Thursday’s finale, McCartney closed out the show with a performance of “Hello, Goodbye,” as Colbert joined in and audience members flooded the stage.
In the lead-up to the franchise finale, a stream of star guests had appeared on the show, such as actors Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal, director Steven Spielberg, Letterman, the show’s host when it debuted in 1993, Bruce Springsteen and Martha Stewart
CBS announced back in July that it would end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and retire “The Late Show” franchise at the end of this season. The company said it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
That explanation was met with skepticism from some viewers and media critics, who questioned whether political motives were involved, given Colbert’s outspoken criticism of President Trump.
It didn’t take him long to weigh in. Shortly before 2 a.m. Eastern Time, Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform, “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”
Colbert took a jab at the network Thursday when his band played “Linus and Lucy,” the theme song from the “Peanuts” television special as part of a bit about a copyright infringement lawsuit.
“Is the band right now playing the same music I said people are being sued for, for using without permission?…Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money,” Colbert said.
Colbert, 62, took over as host of “The Late Show” in September 2015 after Letterman retired from the role he’d held for 22 years.
The entire set of “The Late Show” is being donated to the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, a city where Colbert has deep roots. Colbert attended Northwestern University and performed in Chicago with the famous Second City improv troupe at the beginning of his comedy career.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” had been the No. 1 late-night program for nine consecutive seasons, CBS said last year. In September, it won the Emmy for outstanding talk series and received a standing ovation from the Emmys crowd.
CBS announced last month that Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” will replace Colbert’s show in the 11:35 p.m. ET time slot.
Entertainment
Stephen Colbert’s finale mirrors his first night as surprising interruptions hit farewell monologue
The Late Show aired for one last time on Thursday, May 21, 2026, with Stephen Colbert surprising the first night lineups.
The Late Show ended its 11-year run on CBS with Stephen Colbert, who took the show from his predecessor comedy great David Letterman in 2015.
The star-studded guest lineup showed up for Colbert to bid farewell to The Late Show.
As the taping goes on roll, late-night comedy host plays host to a galaxy of stars, including Paul McCartney, Ryan Reynolds, and Paul Rudd.
Colbert’s final monologue was surprisingly interrupted by several guests.
Bryan Cranston was the first surprise appearance, who interrupted Colbert during his final monologue and threw his Late Show hat down onto the stage in annoyance.
Then came Rudd, who interrupted Colbert from the audience.
“I’m just curious my interview starts,” Rudd said, who was shocked to find out he was not Coolbert’s last guest appearance tonight.
The monologue drama didn’t end here.
Tim Meadows was seated in front of Rudd among the audience and assumed he was also Colbert’s last guest face.
Ryan Reynolds, in the audience, was also surprised he had been unable to secure the last guest spot. “Ouchie,” surprised Reynolds said.
Tig Notaro also made a cameo in the theater crowd, saying. I just like to be at historic events,” the comedian remarked.
The monologue that centered on the theme of finding out who the final guest was reached its climax when McCartney made a cameo.
McCartney sat on Colbert’s couch one last time.
The two before had a lengthy interview.
“I was just in the area, doing some errands,” said McCartney while appearing on stage.
He continued, “I just remember the girls in the balcony,” McCartney recalled his time when he last appeared at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
To wrap things up, Colbert appeared in an acoustic segment, playing with Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste and Louis Cato.
After the song, McCartney came on stage to wrap things up in a stunning way, making a performance of The Beatles’ hitmaker track Hello, Goodbye as Colbert, Batiste, Costello and Cato joined in on vocals.
Entertainment
Zendaya, Tom Holland expand family with ‘wonderful addition”
Zendaya and Tom Holland may keep their romance mostly private, but their growing dog family? That’s another story.
The Challengers star revealed she recently adopted a new pocket bully, instantly turning their household into a three-dog operation – because apparently two spoiled celebrity pups just were not enough.
“Logistically, it wasn’t probably the smartest idea,” Zendaya admitted in a new interview with Elle. “But emotionally, it was. He’s a wonderful addition to our family.”
And honestly, she never stood a chance.
“I saw his little face and I was like, ‘I can’t leave you behind,’” she added.
If the new pup is anything like Zendaya’s dog Noon, he’s about to live a life most humans would envy. Earlier this year, the actress joked about giving her dogs full Hollywood treatment.
“I’d say quintessential Hollywood s–t is probably how I am with my dog,” she told Interview. “They get their fancy meals with the vitamin supplements.”
Then came the confession every pet secretly understands: “It sounds very ridiculous when I talk about it, but I love my child.”
Meanwhile, the Spiderman star has always been equally obsessed with dogs, especially his beloved Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Tessa, who died in 2024.
“I love her, she is an angel,” Holland once said. “She is the sweetest, most angelic thing you’ll ever meet.”
His father, Dominic Holland, later called Tessa “the only Holland who everyone loved all of the time.”
Safe to say, this new puppy just joined a very emotional –and extremely pampered – household.
Entertainment
Big Sean reflects on Coachella mental health speech for Hailey, Justin Bieber
Big Sean has opened up about the viral moment he delivered an impromptu mental health speech to Justin Bieber on stage at Coachella, and revealed that both Justin and Hailey Bieber reached out to him days later to say they were still riding the emotional high from his words.
The rapper, 38, spoke to PEOPLE at Mindful Nation’s Mental Health Awareness Month event at Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters on Wednesday, 20 May, reflecting on the surprise appearance he made during Coachella Weekend 2 last month.
During their joint set, Sean addressed Bieber directly in front of thousands of fans, telling him in a heartfelt speech: “God has his hands on you.”
The moment went viral almost immediately.
What made it all the more remarkable, Sean said, was that none of it was planned.
“I didn’t know that I was gonna say what I said on stage. I was just inspired,” he told PEOPLE.
He described a pre-show ritual that keeps him open to those kinds of moments, morning meditation, journaling, and prayer before he steps out in front of a crowd.
“Before I go on stage, I always pray for God to speak through me,” he said. “I always try and keep myself open to the word of God or the angels around me, because I’m blind behind the miracles I’ve seen.”
In fact, Sean was so caught up in the moment that he barely remembered what he had said once he came offstage.
“When I got offstage and people were like, ‘What you said was so…’ And I’m like, ‘Damn, what did I say?’ I had to go back and listen,” he admitted.
The Biebers, he said, were genuinely moved.
“They both hit me after. I was kicking with them after, but they hit me days later, like, ‘What you said, we’re still on a high off of it and still appreciated and so great what you said.’ And Justin was like, ‘Man, you drop big bars, you drop some bars, man.’ I’m like, I didn’t even really, it wasn’t my intention.”
The two have been friends since 2011, and Sean spoke warmly about what Bieber has been through.
“He’s somebody who has given his whole life to the music, and has grown up in a public eye and has just gone through the ups and downs and been taken advantage of a lot, I feel like, from a lot of people,” he said, adding that Bieber is “not a perfect man and he knows that and he’s been learning with us all.”
The event also featured a book signing for Sean’s 2025 bestseller Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace, which includes a foreword from Jay Shetty.
He hinted that a second book could follow, describing writing as both a passion and a purpose.
He also revealed, to lighter laughter, that skydiving will not be among his future wellness practices. “When I was in the air, I’m like, I don’t need to do this again,” he joked.
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