The final episode of CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” aired Thursday night with a musical performance by pop megastar Paul McCartney, surprise celebrity cameos and even an “interdimensional wormhole.”
In his opening monologue, Colbert reflected on the joy he and his team felt in creating more than 1,800 episodes over 11 years. He said his job was not just to read the news to the audience but to “feel the news with you.”
Although Colbert claimed he would treat the finale like any other episode, a string of celebrity cameos quickly suggested otherwise. Running with the joke that each believed they were the final guest, appearances from Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds led to increasingly exaggerated reactions when they discovered they, in fact, weren’t.
Colber then teased his final guest would be Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, but the pontiff refused to leave his dressing room because the hot dogs were bad.
McCartney then walked on stage and asked “Hey, Stephen, what about me?” prompting Colbert to reply, “I think you’d be the perfect last guest.”
McCartney said he happened to be in the area doing some errands before presenting Colbert with a framed photo of the Beatles at the very same theatre they were sitting in, where the band made its American debut in 1964.
The two chatted about when the Beatles first came to America, with McCartney describing America at the time as “just the land of the free, the greatest democracy.”
“Yes, that was what it was. That’s what it still is, hopefully,” McCartney added.
The two also discuss his new album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” and McCartney’s childhood.
At one point, Colbert leaves his guest to investigate some technical glitches affecting the studio. He goes backstage to find a green vortex that astrophysicist Neal deGrasse Tyson says is an “interdimensional wormhole.”
Tyson tells Colbert his cancellation has created a rift in late-night TV.
“If it grows, all of late-night television could be destroyed,” added Tyson, before Colbert pushes him into the vortex.
Jon Stewart also appeared backstage to deliver a mock statement on behalf of Paramount Skydance Corporation, which owns CBS. Stewart is host of “The Daily Show” which airs on Comedy Central, and is owned by Paramount.
After reading that Paramount believes in covering both sides of any black hole, Stewart says, the point is the hole is here and you can either go in kicking or screaming or do what you’ve done the last 30 years: stare it down and laugh.
Shortly after, other late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers appeared backstage for a “Strike Force Five” podcast group reunion.
“Late night isn’t going to be the same without you,” Kimmel said, before adding a similar vortex once opened on his show last year but went away after three days.
Oliver added the hole “may come for all of our shows, but what’s important to remember is tonight, it’s going to eat you.”
Later, Colbert joined Elvis Costello, former bandleader Jon Batiste and current bandleader Louis Cato for a performance of Costello’s “Jump Up.” They were later joined by McCartney and the house band for a closing rendition of the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye.”
Audience members and staff eventually filled the stage as the finale came to a close. McCartney was then given the honour of symbolically shutting down the theatre’s power for good before the Ed Sullivan Theater was swallowed by the green vortex and turned into a snow globe resting on a New York City sidewalk while the Late Show theme played.
CBS announced last summer that Colbert’s show would end, calling it “purely a financial decision.” The move sparked skepticism because it came just two days after Colbert publicly criticized parent company Paramount for settling a $16-million lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, former Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Thursday’s finale seemed to reference the controversy. During a skit imagining his future after the show, Colbert asked, “Wait, the dolphins know I was cancelled?” which was followed by a clip of a dolphin speaking with the subtitle: “It was a financial decision.”
During the “Meanwhile” segment, Colbert shared a recent headline about how the owner of music used in the “Peanuts” animated special filed several lawsuits against those who illegally used the famous song “Linus and Lucy.” The band then began playing the song to which Colbert asked if this was the same song and quipped “Oh, no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money,” the host said.
Thursday’s broadcast marked the end of Colbert’s 11-year run as host. Both Jimmy Kimmel and The Tonight Show aired reruns on Thursday. Kimmel urged viewers to stop watching CBS after Colbert’s goodbye.
Starting Friday, CBS will replace the 11:35 p.m. slow CBS will fill “The Late Show” slot with “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.”
As for Colbert’s next chapter, Warner Bros. has asked the “Lord of the Rings” superfan to co-write its next movie.
