Colbert Ends The Latest Show: Recap And Reactions
Colbert, who has refused to back down since news of his show’s cancellation broke last July, ended his tenure at the Ed Sullivan Theater in true style.
Before the show officially began, Colbert gave the audience a heartfelt message. “Now, overnight The Colbert Reportback in the day, I said anyone can read these stories. I promise to hear news of you’, and I soon realized in this work that our work here was different. We were here to hear the news with you, and I don’t know about you, but I certainly heard you.”
He continued, “I’m going to say to you what I’ve said to every audience for the past eleven years, and I’ve meant it all along: have a great show, thank you for being here, and let’s do it, y’all.”
First, there were very special guest appearances. Along with Colbert’s entire family, there were 20(!!) famous friends who stopped by to wish him well. Brian Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows all interrupted the monologue to give Colbert a bunch of farewell bananas and/or lament that he wasn’t the last guest.
Tig Notaro says he was there because he likes to be at historical events, like the moon landing, but he didn’t realize this was the last show. Ryan Reynolds even stopped by to hug Colbert’s keyboard star, Corey Bernhard.
Despite Colbert revealing the apparition of Pope Leo XIV a few weeks ago, his holiness was NOT visible, but his “arm” was. Someone dressed as Pope Leo XIV refused to leave the green room because Colbert had served him New York hot dogs instead of Chicago dogs.
Thankfully, Paul McCartney dropped in as the final guest to reminisce about Beatlemania, promote his upcoming album, and air his grievances with Internet cookies. He also gave Colbert a signed photo of The Beatles’ US televised debut, in The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, at the theater there The Late Show was handled.
Some hosts of Late Night, also called Strike Force 5, appeared near the wormhole – naturally – to say goodbye to their friend and colleague. Also, Andy Cohen and Neil DeGrasse Tyson were sucked into the cesspool. It was everything.
Jon Stewart then stopped by to read an actual, completely unwritten letter from Paramount about the cancellation: “Paramount is a firm believer in covering both sides of any black hole that swallows everything we know and love, and the coverage should include the virtues of insatiable emptiness.”
The very real pit, he continued, cannot be ignored. “The only choice you have now is how you choose to go about it. You can go in kicking and screaming — “Colbert replied, “That one.” “Or you can do what you did 30 years ago when you’re faced with something dark: You look down at it, and you can laugh.”
Throughout the show, Colbert and his guests displayed the same humor, joy, and honesty that defined this iteration of The Late Show. Most notably, McCartney said the United States is still the land of the Free and the home of democracy, “hopefully.”
During his “Then” segment, Colbert addressed the recent copyright lawsuits filed by the owners of the “Peanuts” television series over the use of the iconic theme. He explained that “anyone who uses that music illegally will have to pay through the nose…” Suddenly, the house band, Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine, started playing the theme song “Peanuts”. It really was an uncontrollable coincidence!
The show ended with two great performances. The first, a stripped-down version of “Jump Up,” with Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste; the second, a thrilling live performance of “Hello, Goodbye,” led by Paul McCartney, backed by Colbert, Costello, Batiste, and the house band again.
Finally, the Colbert family and the entire crew joined on stage to sing, before Colbert and McCartney flipped a big switch to literally shut down the “Happiness Machine,” as he used to call his show.
It’s safe to say that the internet is in good shape.
“A Stephen Colbert-shaped hole just formed in my heart.”
“Television is losing the real legend.”
“They can cancel shows. They can suppress networks. They can try to silence critics. But they can’t silence the truth.”
“Stephen Colbert not being at the Ed Sullivan Theater after tonight is like suddenly moving the Mona Lisa from the Louvre to an Arby’s bathroom.”
“The black-and-white cold open of Stephen Colbert walking the empty halls of the Ed Sullivan Theater, surrounded by the echoes of 11 years of sound clips, was excellent.”
“Stephen Colbert’s exit is a great example of how you can be classy and throw furniture off the roof because you deserved better than this shit.”
“‘Hello, Goodbye’ was a good choice.”
“I’m crying and I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m taking this so hard and I’m still like this.”
Some people were preparing for Colbert’s next steps.
“What he does next will be his legacy…Man I hope he uses it!”
“So how many minutes until the Colbert substack goes down?”
Even celebrities and politicians were in trouble.
Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon posted, “There is good in this world, Mr. Frodo…and it’s worth fighting for.”
Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he wrote, “Tonight we congratulate our friend Stephen @colbert and his writers, staff, and crew for eleven years of excellence.”
Former late-night host Conan O’Brien posted, “Here’s to Stephen Colbert, an honest and wise man.”
Former Vice President, Kamala Harris said, “Stephen Colbert has a talent for making people laugh and encouraging them to stay curious, stay engaged and stay positive about the world around them.”
…Of course, one politician could not escape.
“Colbert is done with CBS. It’s amazing he stayed this long! No talent, no ratings, no life.”
“Stephen Colbert’s firing at CBS was the ‘beginning of the end’ for talentless, ugly, overpaid, ridiculous, and poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts.”
Stephen, thank you for everything.
What did you think of last night’s final episode? Put your thoughts in the comments!
