{"id":809875,"date":"2026-05-20T13:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/809875\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:00:21","slug":"stephen-colberts-long-goodbye-from-late-show-comes-to-an-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/809875\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert’s long goodbye from ‘Late Show’ comes to an end"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 On his very first time hosting \u201cThe Late Show\u201d back in 2015, Stephen Colbert<\/a> ripped into Donald Trump while gorging on Oreos, likening his inability to resist the cookies to his inability to resist going after the then-presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, you don\u2019t own me. I don\u2019t need to play tape of you to have a successful TV show,\u201d he warned an image of Trump. \u201cSomeone on television should have a modicum of dignity and it could be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next 11 years, Colbert couldn\u2019t curb his appetite for making Trump barbs, often turning his show into a full-throated rebuke of MAGA policies. Trump would call him a \u201cdead man walking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The on-air feud between the two men seemingly ends Thursday as Colbert\u2019s top-rated late-night TV program<\/a> goes off the air for the final time, effectively silencing a high-profile White House critic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legacy of this show needs to be that we remember it as the show that was canceled because a presidential administration wanted it off the air,\u201d says Heather Hendershot, a professor of communication studies and journalism at Northwestern University. \u201cWe haven\u2019t connected every single dot on that, but it\u2019s very clear that this was a political decision. And I think 20, 30, 40 years later, that is going to be strongly remembered about this show \u2014 that this was a moment of authoritarian triumph.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Stephen Colbert prepares to say goodbye to \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d Thursday night, former guests and famous colleagues reflect on the impact he has made. (May 20)<\/p>\n

When comedy and politics collide<\/p>\n

When CBS announced last summer that Colbert\u2019s show would end in May<\/a>, the network said it was for economic reasons but others \u2014 including Colbert \u2014 have expressed skepticism that Trump\u2019s repeated criticism of the show had nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n

The cancellation came after CBS parent company Paramount agreed to pay $16 million<\/a> to settle Trump\u2019s lawsuit over a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview, as Paramount\u2019s sale to Skydance Media awaited the Trump administration\u2019s approval. Colbert had called the settlement<\/a> a \u201cbig fat bribe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump rejoiced over the cancellation in a Truth Social post, writing \u201cI absolutely love\u201d that the host \u201cgot fired.\u201d He followed it with: \u201cI hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.\u201d Just two months later, ABC, buckling to pressure from Trump\u2019s Federal Communications Commission chair and affiliate networks, temporarily suspended Kimmel<\/a> \u2014 the host of its own late-night show \u2014 following his remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

TV experts said there are not many other examples of a hit show being shuttered due to political pressure. In 1969, CBS abruptly canceled \u201cThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,\u201d<\/a> which had aired comedy bits in opposition of the Vietnam War and in support of civil rights.<\/p>\n

Colbert, a \u201cDaily Show\u201d alum, spent nine years playing a buffoonish, conservative commentator on Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cThe Colbert Report.\u201d He was not universally welcomed to \u201cThe Late Show\u201d by those he had lampooned, with Rush Limbaugh<\/a> saying \u201cCBS has just declared war on the heartland of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, left, with guest Tom Hanks on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d in New York on May 13, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via AP)<\/p>\n

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, left, with guest Tom Hanks on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d in New York on May 13, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via AP)<\/p>\n

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Through Democratic and Republican administrations, Colbert and other late-night comedians have offered their take on the day\u2019s events that offered something different from traditional news media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn given moments, like when something big happened, you really do want that perspective that says, \u2018Here\u2019s another way to look at it,\u2019\u201d says Dustin Kidd, a professor of sociology at Temple University. \u201cOr when it feels really overwhelming, you want that reminder that there\u2019s still some way to laugh at it. And so the more you lose those ways to laugh at it, the more we all decline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert put his own spin on late night<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Late Show\u201d had celebrities, musical guests and jokes about Arby\u2019s and Spirit Airlines, like other late-night shows. But Colbert put his own spin on things, like wearing his Catholic faith<\/a> and his adoration of his wife and frequent guest, Evie McGee Colbert,<\/a> on his sleeve.<\/p>\n

After the monologue, he had oddball segments like \u201cMeanwhile,\u201d a look at global affairs in \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On Over There?,\u201d technology with \u201cCyborgasm\u201d and youth slang in \u201cStephen Colbert Presents: That\u2019s Yeet. Dabbing on Fleek, Fam!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Late Show,\u201d which began in 1993 with host David Letterman,<\/a> won two Emmys under Colbert, as well as a Peabody Award. Come Friday, the 11:35 p.m. time slot goes to \u201cComics Unleashed,\u201d a talk show that host Byron Allen has vowed will eschew politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just going to be a huge void,\u201d says Lisa Rogak, the author of the 2011 biography \u201cAnd Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert.\u201d \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think anybody\u2019s going to really want to step up and fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Bryan<\/p>\n

Bryan Cranston, right, presents the award for outstanding talk series to Stephen Colbert, left, for \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello, File)<\/p>\n

Bryan Cranston, right, presents the award for outstanding talk series to Stephen Colbert, left, for \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello, File)<\/p>\n

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Among those sorry to see Colbert go is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson,<\/a> a frequent guest. Johnny Carson used to book scientists, but Tyson notes wryly that not many TV hosts do these days. Colbert even had a segment highlighting new discoveries called \u201cThe Sound of Science.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScience doesn\u2019t have many opportunities to access centerline pop culture,\u201d says Tyson.<\/p>\n

In a departure from the infighting of decades ago, other late-night hosts have rallied around Colbert.<\/a> Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers \u2014 who hosted the \u201cStrike Force Five\u201d podcast<\/a> with Colbert during the Hollywood strikes \u2014 visited \u201cThe Late Show\u201d recently.<\/p>\n

NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u201d and ABC\u2019s \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!,\u201d which typically air against \u201cThe Late Show,\u201d will instead broadcast reruns on Thursday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, right, with guests, from left, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d in New York on May 11, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via AP)<\/p>\n

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, right, with guests, from left, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d in New York on May 11, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS via AP)<\/p>\n

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Catholics and Tolkien fans mourn, too<\/p>\n

Catholics will also mourn the loss of a late-night host who could quote Psalms by heart and who brought up issues of faith with guests and even what happens when we die with \u201cThe Colbert Questionert.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re losing a very well-known Catholic and someone who shares his religious ideas freely and intellectually, too,\u201d says Stephanie Brehm, author of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself): Stephen Colbert and American Religion in the Twenty-First Century.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed to poignant moments like Colbert\u2019s chat with then-Vice President Joe Biden<\/a> about the death of his son, his discussion of grief with Anderson Cooper and his exploration of the relationship between faith and comedy with Dua Lipa.<\/p>\n

Brehm saw Colbert make himself into a sort of moral authority and lean into the social justice camp of progressive Catholics:<\/a> \u201cHe is playing up that moral quality by standing up for American moral values like freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and he\u2019s doing it with a Catholic jargon, with Catholic language.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert, left, and Evelyn McGee Colbert appear at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jae C. Hong, File)<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert, left, and Evelyn McGee Colbert appear at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jae C. Hong, File)<\/p>\n

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Then there are devotees of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Colbert is a superfan<\/a> of \u201cThe Hobbit\u201d and \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d and championed Tolkien in skits, references and competitions, memorably smoking James Franco in a few throwdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you step back and reflect on his career, everything he\u2019s done is for the betterment of the community,\u201d says Duane Cronkite, head of live programming for the Fellowship of Fans forum and news site.<\/p>\n

Timothy Lenz, part of the leadership committee of The Mythopoeic Society, a group dedicated to the study and appreciation of Tolkien, says Colbert inspired new readers.<\/p>\n

\u201cStephen Colbert is easily the most enthusiastic celebrity fan of Tolkien\u2019s works,\u201d he says. \u201cThat sort of public, unapologetic enthusiasm for stories that in Colbert\u2019s youth would have been considered like nerdy and uncool, that really helps to encourage fans of all ages to let their geek flag fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tolkien, fittingly, offers a next step for Colbert after his show goes dark. He\u2019s co-writing a new \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d movie.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s living the fan dream right now,\u201d says Lenz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 On his very first time hosting \u201cThe Late Show\u201d back in 2015, Stephen Colbert…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":809876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[30],"tags":[27602,64,78823,435,19719,47407,69,2515,329224,171,329223,57,2055,84585,1029,11171,82,53747,16682,329225,40450,405,403,80,365,329222,32857,15466,3036,329226,13895,399,329227,173,61,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-809875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-anderson-cooper","tag-business","tag-byron-allen","tag-celebrity","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-david-letterman","tag-donald-trump","tag-dua-lipa","tag-duane-cronkite","tag-entertainment","tag-evie-mcgee-colbert","tag-general-news","tag-government-and-politics","tag-james-franco","tag-jimmy-fallon","tag-jimmy-kimmel","tag-joe-biden","tag-john-oliver","tag-johnny-carson","tag-lisa-rogak","tag-neil-degrasse-tyson","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-politics","tag-religion","tag-rush-limbaugh","tag-sc-state-wire","tag-seth-meyers","tag-south-carolina","tag-stephanie-brehm","tag-stephen-colbert","tag-television","tag-timothy-lenz","tag-tv","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}