CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert came to an emotional end on Thursday night with a special finale that ran for one hour and 17 minutes. The farewell episode featured a long list of celebrity appearances and a memorable final moment with Paul McCartney.
Colbert opened the show by speaking directly to the audience inside New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater and to viewers watching at home. Visibly emotional, he described The Late Show as “the joy machine,” thanked the staff, and reminded viewers “how important you’ve been to what we have done.”
Bandleader Louis Cato described the connection between the show and its audience as a “reciprocal emotional relationship.” Colbert wrapped up the night with his familiar sign-off: “Have a good show. Thanks for being here, and let’s do it, y’all!” before the theme music rolled one final time.
A parade of celebrity appearances
The finale leaned heavily into comedy with a running joke involving celebrity guests who all believed they were the show’s final interview.
Bryan Cranston interrupted Colbert’s opening monologue from the audience, dramatically removing his Late Show cap before storming out and grumbling about selling his ticket.
Paul Rudd arrived carrying what he called a long poem along with the traditional retirement gift of six bananas — though the count quickly dropped to five.
Tim Meadows reflected on his days working with Colbert at Second City, only to become annoyed and walk off after learning he was not the final guest either.
Tig Notaro joked that she enjoys attending historic moments such as “the Obama inauguration and the moon landing.”
Ryan Reynolds also appeared, disappointed he was not the closing guest. He explained he had come to pay his respects and brought bananas for house band keyboardist Corey Bernhard.
At one point, Colbert teased that Pope Leo XIV would be the final guest of the evening. The gag ended with Colbert claiming the Pope refused to leave his dressing room.
Paul McCartney’s farewell appearance
The true final guest was Paul McCartney, who walked onstage carrying a signed Beatles portrait for Colbert. Reading the inscription aloud, Colbert joked: “For Stephen — you’re better than the Beatles.”
McCartney also reflected on returning to the Ed Sullivan Theater decades after performing there with The Beatles more than 60 years ago, giving the finale a full-circle feeling.
The “interdimensional wormhole” storyline
Throughout the episode, strange green flashes kept appearing around the set. Colbert eventually investigated and discovered what the show called an “interdimensional wormhole.”
Joined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Colbert playfully pushed Tyson into the portal as part of the ongoing bit.
The storyline continued through sketches featuring several late-night hosts and colleagues, including Jon Stewart, Andy Cohen, and the Strike Force Five crew — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers — all joking about the wormhole eventually swallowing their shows as well.
Meyers delivered one of the night’s sharpest lines when he told Colbert, “without you, where would America turn to watch a middle-aged white man deliver the news?” The comment also drew attention to the fact that most of the guests and hosts involved in the sketches were white men.
Music and the final goodbye
Music played a major role in the finale. Colbert performed an acoustic version of Elvis Costello’s Jump Up, joined by Costello himself, Louis Cato, and former bandleader Jon Batiste.
Later, a montage showed the fictional wormhole consuming people and objects throughout the theater before transitioning into a grand musical finale. McCartney led a performance of Hello, Goodbye while the entire Late Show staff and Colbert’s family joined everyone onstage.
As the audience clapped and sang along, Colbert embraced the “joy machine” spirit he had spoken about at the beginning of the night. In the closing moment, he allowed McCartney to turn off the Ed Sullivan Theater lights one last time.
The episode ended with a surreal visual: the theater being pulled into the wormhole and transformed into a snow globe, which Colbert’s dog Benny then sniffed — a playful ending that suggested both closure and a new beginning.
The controversy surrounding the show’s cancellation
CBS announced last summer that The Late Show would end in May 2026, describing the decision as “purely a financial decision.” However, many viewers questioned the timing because the announcement came only two days after Colbert criticized Paramount Global — CBS’s parent company — for settling a lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump involving a 60 Minutes story.
The timing led to speculation that politics may have played a role in the cancellation.
Colbert addressed the controversy during the finale through several jokes, including one involving stolen printer cartridges, while debate over the show’s ending continued online and in the media.
Thursday’s episode officially closed Colbert’s 11-year run as host. Competing programs, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show, aired reruns during the broadcast.
Starting Friday, CBS will replace the longtime 11:35 p.m. ET slot — home to The Late Show for 33 years — with Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
