{"id":813898,"date":"2026-05-22T05:39:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/813898\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T05:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:39:23","slug":"stephen-colbert-takes-final-bow-on-the-late-show-with-paul-mccartney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/813898\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert takes final bow on ‘The Late Show’ with Paul McCartney"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The roar erupting from the capacity audience inside the Ed Sullivan Theater when Stephen Colbert stepped on the stage of his \u201cLate Show\u201d for the last time made it clear that they did not want him to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

Colbert took his final bow as his beloved late-night show came to an end Thursday. The episode was so crammed with top celebrities who showed up to share a last moment with the comedian that it extended nearly 30 minutes beyond its usual one-hour run time.<\/p>\n

Before the official start, Colbert addressed the audience as he thanked the staff, calling the show \u201cThe Joy Machine\u201d: \u201cWe call it the Joy Machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine. But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn\u2019t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears, and I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other, and how much we mean to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his opening monologue, Colbert downplayed the event\u2018s status, rolling a series of jokes about news stories in New York and New Jersey. But he was repeatedly interrupted by audience members Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows and Ryan Reynolds, who all became irritated \u2014 except for Tig Notaro \u2014 when Colbert informed each of them that they would not be his last guest.<\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Tim Meadows and Paul Rudd during Thursday\u2019s May 21, 2026 show. Photo: Best Possible Screen Grab \u00a92026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

(CBS)<\/p>\n

When the show\u2019s supposed scheduled last guest, Pope Leo XIV, refused to leave his dressing room, Paul McCartney popped on stage to a rapturous ovation. The legendary musician presented Colbert with a framed photo of the Beatles when they appeared on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201d in 1964.<\/p>\n

One of the few subtle references to President Trump came when McCartney relayed a story how the Beatles, before their Sullivan appearance, got their faces covered with bright orange makeup. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty popular in certain circles these days,\u201d Colbert quipped.<\/p>\n

Later in the show, a pre-taped segment that revolved around a wormhole that was threatening to consume Colbert featured several celebrities, including \u201cThe Daily Show\u201d host Jon Stewart, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Elijah Wood and fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. The show ended with \u201cThe Late Show\u201d band, led by Louis Cato, who accompanied Colbert, Elvis Costello and former \u201cLate Show\u201d band leader Jon Batiste in singing with McCartney on the Beatles\u2019 \u201cHello, Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final scene after almost 90 minutes featured Colbert and McCartney going to the light box of the theater and pulling the lever to \u201coff.\u201d The theater vanished into the green wormhole, disintegrating into a snow globe with the theater inside.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Paul McCartney and Colbert during the interview segment. 2.<\/strong> Colbert and McCartney performing together. 3.<\/strong> Louis Cato, left, Colbert, McCartney, Elvis Costello, and Jon Batiste performing \u201cHello, Goodbye\u201d together. (Scott Kowalchyk \/CBS) <\/p>\n

The episode marked the finale of Colbert\u2019s 11-year run on CBS\u2019 late-night show, which he has been counting down since July of last year, when CBS said it was canceling the show<\/a> because of financial difficulties. \u201cThe Late Show\u201d franchise, which Colbert inherited in 2015 from David Letterman, was the top-ranked late-night show, but it faced challenges due to dramatic declines in viewership and a drop in advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

However, industry observers also contended the move was tied to Colbert\u2019s relentless criticism of Trump. The decision was announced after Paramount, the parent company of CBS, had settled a lawsuit filed by Trump over a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The company agreed to pay $16 million to settle the suit, which came as Paramount was attempting to get regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media, which Colbert called \u201ca big fat bribe.\u201d Trump made no secret of his disdain for Colbert and other late-night hosts who have skewered him and his administration over the years.<\/p>\n

Colbert, his guests and others continued to blast Trump in this final week. In his introduction Wednesday of his performance of \u201cStreets of Minneapolis<\/a>,\u201d Bruce Springsteen said: \u201cI\u2019m here in support tonight for Stephen, because you\u2019re the first guy in America who has lost his show because we got a president who can\u2019t take a joke.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Colbert, left, was visited by fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver during Thursday\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

(Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS)<\/p>\n

And Kimmel on his ABC late-night series \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d said Wednesday, \u201cI will be watching tomorrow night. I hope that those of you who watch will also tune in to CBS for the last time. Don\u2019t ever watch it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a tribute to Colbert, Kimmel, another target of Trump, and Fallon said their respective shows would not air new episodes during Colbert\u2019s finale.<\/p>\n

But the overall vibe on \u201cThe Late Show\u201d this week has centered on celebration and spotlighting the show\u2019s comedic formula. Several celebrities who have a special connection with the show made appearances, including Stewart and filmmaker Steven Spielberg. <\/p>\n

In one of the more arguably iconic sequences, David Byrne and his band \u2014 all attired in bright blue uniforms \u2014 appeared Tuesday to perform the Talking Heads anthem \u201cBurning Down the House<\/a>.\u201d Colbert joined in at the end, dancing in his matching blue outfit.<\/p>\n

The \u201cLate Show\u201d time slot will be occupied starting Friday by Byron Allen and his \u201cComics Unleashed\u201d<\/a> syndicated show. CBS executives have said they hope to develop a new original late-night series<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The roar erupting from the capacity audience inside the Ed Sullivan Theater when Stephen Colbert stepped on the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":813899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[330522,1582,276,15328,3404,330523,330524,52397,151507,2961,13940,14165,224,5337,15329,53324,1807,4370,13895,277],"class_list":["post-813898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-beloved-late-night-show","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-cbs","tag-episode","tag-final-bow","tag-final-guest","tag-finale","tag-joke","tag-la","tag-last-year","tag-late-show","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-paramount","tag-paul-mccartney","tag-president-trump","tag-show","tag-stephen-colbert","tag-trump"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116616625332314117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813898","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=813898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}