Stephen Colbert<\/strong><\/a> officially said goodbye to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert<\/em><\/a> after more than 10 years as its host.<\/p>\n The comedian, 62, used his trademark humor during the Thursday, May 21, series finale of the CBS late-night show such as including an amusing sketch about finding a worm hole backstage that was ready to suck him away.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think my show would end like this,\u201d Colbert joked.<\/p>\n In the segment, Colbert was approached by fellow talk show hosts, John Oliver<\/strong>, Seth Meyers,<\/strong> Jimmy Kimmel<\/strong> and Jimmy Fallon<\/strong> for a final farewell.<\/p>\n When Colbert questioned why none of the others were being pulled into the worm hole, Kimmel referenced his own issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n He quipped, \u201cYou know what? Actually, one of these holes opened at my show last year, but it went away after about three days.\u201d<\/p>\n During the sketch, Colbert remarked, \u201cNow it looks like it\u2019s the end, and I wish it wasn\u2019t, but that\u2019s not for me to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n His humor appeared in other parts of the final show, including joking about starting an OnlyFans as his next career move and getting the band to play expensive music that CBS will have to fork out for.<\/p>\n The comedian went full circle as he ended the show, enlisting Paul McCartney<\/strong> as his final celebrity interview among a handful of star cameos.<\/p>\n Colbert had opened his final show by reflecting the pop culture history of his show\u2019s filming location \u2013 the Ed Sullivan Theater.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is so much history here in the Ed Sullivan Theater, and we\u2019ve been honored to have been just a small part of it. Nichols and May played on the stage, The Beatles made their American debut here,\u201d Colbert said in the opening monologue.<\/p>\n He then joked, \u201cAnd this is true. This is true. Backstage, Elvis<\/strong> used the bathroom and didn\u2019t die.\u201d<\/p>\n The episode featured a string of star cameos including Bryan Cranston<\/strong>, Paul Rudd<\/strong>, Tim Meadows<\/strong>, Tig Notaro<\/strong>, Ryan Reynolds<\/strong>, Elijah Wood<\/strong> and Andy Cohen<\/strong> with McCartney as the on-stage chat.<\/p>\n McCartney, 83, shared his memories of first stepping foot inside the theater in 1964 as part of The Beatles when they were \u201cyoung kids\u201d and \u201csort of full of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Sullivan<\/strong> was really nice. He was a really cool guy,\u201d McCartney recalled. \u201cI mean, you know, we\u2019d never been to America. We come here and we people said, \u2018This is like the biggest show,\u2019 And we\u2019re telling the truth, we\u2019d never heard him, you know, in England. But yeah, so it was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n During the interview, Colbert quoted lyrics from a poignant new McCartney song called \u201cDays We Left Behind,\u201d which read, \u201cNothing stays the same\/ No one needs to cry.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert appeared to allude to the end of his show, noting, \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about change lately.\u201d<\/p>\n McCartney closed out the show by performing The Beatles 1969 classic, \u201cGoodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout his final month at The Late Show<\/em>, Colbert welcomed a slew of A-list guests, including fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel<\/strong>, Jimmy Fallon<\/strong>, Seth Meyers<\/strong> and John Oliver<\/strong>, his Late Show<\/em> predecessor<\/a>, David Letterman<\/strong>, and President Barack Obama<\/strong>. Earlier this week, Colbert was joined by Jon Stewart<\/strong>, Bruce Springsteen<\/strong>, Steven Spielberg<\/strong> and David Byrne<\/strong> as he prepared to conclude the series.<\/p>\n Colbert took over as the host of The Late Show<\/em> in September 2015 after Letterman, 79, retired following his 22-season stint in the role from August 1993 to May 2015. Colbert then helmed the Emmy-winning series for 11 seasons.<\/p>\n Colbert announced The Late Show<\/em>\u2019s cancellation<\/a> in July 2025. As the studio audience reacted with boos, he responded, \u201cI share your feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners,\u201d he noted at the time. \u201cAnd I\u2019m grateful to the audience, you, who have joined us every night, in here, out there and all around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert then thanked his crew. \u201cWe get to do this show for each other every day all day,\u201d he said, adding that he wished \u201csomebody else\u201d could replace him after his exit.<\/p>\n CBS executives addressed the cancellation news at the time, claiming the decision was purely a \u201cfinancial\u201d one and not \u201crelated in any way to the show\u2019s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.\u201d The move came after Paramount Global settled a lawsuit with President Donald Trump<\/strong> ahead of Skydance Media\u2019s acquisition of the company, which Colbert criticized on the air.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not dispute their rationale [that it was for financial reasons],\u201d Colbert told The New York Times<\/em> in an April interview. \u201cI do make jokes about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn\u2019t make sense<\/a> to me and (B) that seems fishy to me,\u201d he continued. \u201cBecause the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert has yet to publicly share his plans for what\u2019s next for him after The Late Show<\/em> ends, but he will be taking a step back from the news cycle \u2014 at least temporarily.<\/p>\n
\n Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.<\/span> (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"GettyImages-2276998529Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2276998529Stephen-Colberts-Late-Night-TV-Rivals-Join-Him-for-Final-Late-Show.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Paul McCartney and Stephen Colbert.<\/span> (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
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