Stephen Colbert's Last Night on 'The Late Show' Has Been Revealed
Stephen Colbert's final night as host of The Late Show has been revealed.
The comedian, 61, will say good night on CBS for the final time on May 21. Colbert himself shared the news during his January 27 episode.
The update comes six months after Colbert revealed the network was pulling the plug on the popular late night show without a successor host or replacement show. "I want to let you know something I found out just last night," Colbert told his audience on July 17. "Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May."
As the audience responded with boos and moans, Colbert added, "It's not just the end of our show, it's the end of the Late Show on CBS." He also noted, "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away." The news came two days after the show was nominated for the Emmy for best talk series.
Stephen Colbert Has Hosted 'The Late Show' For 10 Years
The host made a point of praising the crew and team he worked with for 10 years. "It is a fantastic job, I wish someone else was getting it," said Colbert. "And it's a job I'm looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for the another 10 months. It's going to be fun."
He also heaped plenty of positivity on the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where the show is filmed. "Listen, you can do comedy in a lot of different places, [but] there's no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater," he said. "But it's really the people. That's really what I care about. That's really what I'm going to miss more than anything."
Though Colbert has not revealed his expected slate of guests between now and his final day on the air, he has repeatedly noted that he would love to have Pope Leo on the show. Colbert repeated that claim while speaking to Seth Meyers Tuesday night. After Meyers joked that Pope Francis, who died in April 2025, would not have been a great late night guest, Colbert said, "Any pope's pretty good."
He added: "Of course, American Pope, Chicago Pope. Of course you want the new pope ... This is good that you did not meet the pope, because this attitude... this attitude does not go across in the Apostolic Palace. Those Swiss guards would take that halberd and just take you down. In their big pantaloons and everything."
Colbert, a devout Catholic, previously met Pope Francis when he joined several other comedians on a trip to the Vatican in 2024. The group also included Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, and Conan O'Brien.
CBS Does Not Plan To Replace Stephen Colbert
A statement released by Paramount in May 2025 also confirmed Colbert and the show will not be replaced. "We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire 'The Late Show' franchise at that time," the statement said. "We are proud that Stephen called CBS home."
The team also insisted the decision was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
Colbert took over The Late Show on September 8, 2015, after David Letterman's 22-year tenure came to an end.
Related: Stephen Colbert Opens up on His Hit Show’s Cancellation