All articles tagged with #late show
CBS allegedly froze out Stephen Colbert after he mocked Tony Dokoupil and CBS News; Colbert's finale of The Late Show roasted President Trump and drew about 6.74 million viewers, with appearances by Paul McCartney, Bryan Cranston and others. CBS described the exit as a financial decision, coming after Colbert had criticized CBS's Trump settlement, and Trump responded with a Truth Social tirade after the finale.
Readers share personal memories of Stephen Colbert and The Late Show, praising his wit, empathy, and fearless political commentary—from the Covid era to the January 6 coverage—and describing how the show served as a nightly sanity check and left a lasting impact after its finale.
Byron Allen says he isn’t trying to replace Stephen Colbert as Comics Unleashed takes over the 11:35 p.m. slot with a politics-free, joke-focused format; CBS and Paramount have not issued restrictions, and Allen emphasizes the show has its own audience built over 20 years. He praises Colbert as an American treasure and notes there’s no plan to target Colbert’s audience, stressing the goal of uniting viewers through comedy after Colbert’s final episode on May 21. Comics Unleashed airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET.
Stephen Colbert’s Late Show finale drew about 6.7 million viewers on Thursday, the largest weeknight audience of his 11-year run, aided by a longer episode and a Paul McCartney appearance; CBS notes caveats, including comparisons to Letterman-era highs and a 2016 post-Super Bowl spike. In Q1 2026 the show averaged roughly 2.7 million viewers per night, while rivals aired repeats on finale night; CBS is replacing The Late Show with Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen and a second time-buy show, signaling ongoing shifts in the late-night landscape.
Stephen Colbert was briefly booted from CBS and returned to television the next day on a Michigan community-access channel, signaling a quick pivot to local airwaves after the CBS incident.
Stephen Colbert surprised viewers by returning to late-night TV unannounced on Friday, just a day after CBS taped the final Late Show episode, headlining a segment on his old Monroe, Michigan public-access program 'Only in Monroe' with a local monologue and an Eminem cameo. CBS had announced the end of The Late Show amid a merger-driven shift, and Colbert is moving on to new projects, including writing the next Lord of the Rings film.
Trump spent the night celebrating Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show on Truth Social, calling Colbert untalented and predicting the “Beginning of the End” for late-night hosts; Colbert’s farewell episode aired the next morning as a somber tribute to late-night TV.
Stephen Colbert’s Late Show finale drew a record 6.74 million viewers, the show’s most-watched weeknight episode, according to Nielsen. The Ed Sullivan Theater send-off featured Paul McCartney as the final guest, with cameos from Jon Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows and more, plus a Beatles-style performance of 'Hello, Goodbye' with McCartney, Elvis Costello, and Jon Batiste. The finale followed CBS’s decision to end the show for financial reasons amid a Paramount–Skydance merger, with industry chatter surrounding the move.
Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show drew 6.74 million viewers on CBS, the most for a weeknight in his run and well above the season average of roughly 2.4–2.7 million, though not as high as Letterman’s 2015 farewell. The finale also generated online traction, with about 2.9 million views for Colbert’s closing monologue on YouTube and 1.1 million for Paul McCartney’s performance, underscoring how late-night viewing has shifted to clips and social platforms. CBS previously announced the show’s cancellation due to timeslot economics, with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed set to take over the 11:30 slot.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s finale drew 6.74 million viewers, the show’s most-watched weeknight episode of all time, topping its 2026 Q1 average and surpassing its own earlier premieres, with a star-studded lineup of guests.
Byron Allen will lease CBS’s 11:35 p.m. slot for 16 months to move Comics Unleashed into Colbert’s time, with Allen selling the ads and CBS receiving a profitability guarantee. He says he isn’t trying to replace Colbert and highlights the deal as a springboard for his broader media ambitions, including BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty, and the Weather Channel, plus AI initiatives. He emphasizes non-political, joke-focused content and cross-promotion between his properties to grow audiences and revenue.
President Donald Trump celebrated Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show on CBS with a Truth Social post calling Colbert 'finished' and a 'dead person,' while Colbert’s finale largely avoided Trump jokes. CBS cited financial reasons for ending the show and denied it was to curry favor with Trump, noting the timing coincided with Paramount’s FCC approval process for its Skydance deal.
President Trump publicly attacked Stephen Colbert, calling him a 'total jerk' and saying Colbert is 'finally finished' after CBS canceled The Late Show; Colbert’s farewell featured a star‑studded set with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney as he steered away from politics, marking the end of his 11‑season run while Trump had publicly criticized him in the months leading up to the finale.
Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show aired as a deliberately “normal” broadcast that still unfolded like a surreal farewell: Paul McCartney topped the guest list after a pope-cancellation gag, a Neil deGrasse Tyson cameo revealed an interdimensional wormhole swallowing the set, and a wave of audience cameos culminated in a Beatles performance. CBS’s earlier cancellation for financial reasons loomed over the night, but Colbert used the moment to thank his staff and audience, reflect on the joy of making the show, and tease future projects (potentially including Tolkien work) as he looks to what comes next after a move to D.C. for his brother’s wedding and an Emmy win for best talk show.
Paul McCartney appeared as a surprise guest on the Late Show finale, performing ‘Hello Goodbye’ with Colbert and guests and turning off the Ed Sullivan Theater lights in a symbolic sendoff. The extended broadcast mixed musical moments, backstage anecdotes about the Beatles’ Sullivan appearance, and a wormhole gag, as Colbert’s farewell paid tribute to the show’s history while leaving the theater’s future plans uncertain.