Stephen Colbert’s rival appears on ‘Late Show’ series finale

Stephen Colbert formal farewell The Late Show with Stephen Colbert After more than a decade as host.

The 62-year-old comedian used his signature humor during the series finale of The Late Late Show on CBS on Thursday, May 21, such as a hilarious sketch in which he discovered a wormhole backstage ready to suck him away.

“I didn’t expect my show to end like this,” Colbert joked.

In the clip, Colbert is approached by fellow talk show hosts, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, jimmy kimmel and jimmy fallon Say a final farewell.

When Colbert questioned why others weren’t pulled into the wormhole, Kimmel mentioned his own problems.

He quipped: “You know what? I actually had a hole in my show last year and it was gone after about three days.”

“It looks like it’s over now, and I hope it’s not, but it’s not up to me,” Colbert said during the sketch.

His humor showed up in other parts of the final show, where he joked about starting an OnlyFans as the next step in his career and having bands play expensive music that CBS would have to pay for.

The comedian came full circle at the end of the show, recruiting Paul McCartney It was his last celebrity interview among a handful of celebrity cameos.

Colbert opened his final show with a reflection on the pop culture history of the Ed Sullivan Theater where his show was filmed.

“The Ed Sullivan Theater has so much history and we’re honored to be a small part of it. Nichols and May performed on the stage and The Beatles made their debut here,” Colbert said in his opening monologue.

He then joked: “It’s true. It’s true. Backstage, Elvis Presley I went to the bathroom, but I didn’t die. “

The episode features a series of celebrity guest appearances, including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Teague Notaro, Ryan Reynolds, Elijah Wood and Andy Cohen with McCartney as the final onstage chat.

McCartney, 83, shared his memories of first stepping into a theater as a member of the Beatles in 1964, when they were “little kids” and “a little bit full of themselves”.

“Mr Sullivan Really good. He was a really cool guy,” McCartney recalled. “I mean, you know, we had never been to America. We come here and people say, ‘This is like the biggest show ever’ and we’re telling the truth, you know, we’ve never heard him in England. But yeah, so that’s awesome. “

During the interview, Colbert cited lyrics from a poignant new McCartney song, “The Days We Gone,” which read: “Nothing is set in stone/No one needs to cry.”

Colbert seemed to hint at the end of his show by noting, “I’ve been thinking about a change lately.”

McCartney closed the show with the Beatles’ 1960s classic “Hello and Goodbye.”

in his last month late night showColbert welcomed many top guests, including himself late night show predecessor, david lettermanand Chairman barack obama. Earlier this week, Colbert joined Jon Stewart, bruce springsteen, Steven Spielberg and David Byrne as he prepares to end the series.

Colbert takes over as host late night show In September 2015, Letterman, 79, retired after 22 seasons in the role from August 1993 to May 2015. Colbert went on to direct the Emmy Award-winning series for 11 seasons.

Colbert announced late night showCancellation July 2025. As the studio audience booed, he replied: “I feel the same way you do.”

“I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners,” he noted at the time. “I thank you, the audience, for joining us every night, here, there and around the world.”

Colbert then thanked his crew. “We do this show every day for each other,” he said, adding that he hopes “someone else” will replace him after he quits.

CBS executives addressed the cancellation news at the time, claiming the decision was purely a “financial” one and had “nothing to do with the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.” The move comes after Paramount Worldwide reached a settlement with President Donald Trump Before Skydance Media acquired the company, Colbert criticized the acquisition on the show.

“I don’t question their rationale (it was financial reasons),” Colbert told new york times in an interview in April. “I do know how to joke.”

“But I also totally understand why people would say (A) no meaning “It seems fishy to me and (B),” he continued. “Because the network did itself a disservice by capitulating to the Trump administration on a $20 billion issue that ended up settling for $16 million with a completely frivolous lawsuit.” “

Colbert has yet to publicly share his next steps late night show It’s over, but he’ll be taking a step back from the news cycle — at least for now.

“I love what we do and I love the hard work,” he told us Q November 2025. “You can only do one of those shows where you tell jokes every night, year after year, for 20 years, if you really care about what you’re saying. That’s what I do. But there’s one sense of relief This way I don’t have to wear a snorkel and go to the sewer every day. “

He added: “I know who I am without that. … Before I became Stephen Colbert, I was married to all my children, as anyone would know. My identity is tied to that. And the family I grew up with and my faith.”

exist late night showabsence, Byron Allen launches comics will time period to take over it on CBS.