Stephen Colbert Last Show: Comedian's Critics And Supporters Speak in the Aftermath

Stephen Colbert last show subverted critics' expectations by omitting one of the host's favourite hot topics from his final monologue.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its final episode on a high note on Thursday, almost a year after CBS announced its cancellation. Colbert started the show with his traditional monologue, ribbing on topics like AI, the hantavirus, and the Catholic Church. The speech was also relatively apolitical, lacking any Trump jokes.

Colbert Last Show Opens with a 'Nothing Special' Monologue

Colbert quickly hushed the audience, which booed after he mentioned they were airing the final episode. 'No, no, we were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years. You can't take this for granted,' he said, before reminiscing on the show's milestones.

Comedians Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows interrupted Colbert's speech as part of a skit, all vying for the final interview. It was ultimately Paul McCartney who sat down with Colbert toward the end of the show.

The episode ignored the elephant in the room for the sake of an optimistic sendoff. CBS announced last July that the show was being cancelled for financial reasons, but critics argued the network buckled under political pressure. Colbert has slammed Trump and his administration in jest, especially in his monologues.

The Controversy Surrounding the Late Show's Cancellation

Paramount's ownership of CBS sits at the centre of speculations, because CBS is a subsidiary of Paramount and the network's parent was already seeking regulatory approval for its Skydance merger.

Critics said the timing fueled suspicion that the decision was meant to keep Trump-friendly regulators satisfied, while CBS said the move was a financial one and not tied to the show's content or politics.

Rumours about Trump's involvement in the cancellation mounted after Colbert mocked Paramount's $16 million (£11.92 million) settlement with Trump over the CBS News dispute, his lawsuit alleging the network deceptively edited its 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview.

Trump later celebrated The Late Show's sacking but denied responsibility. 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he wrote on Truth Social. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.'

Trump promised to address Colbert's final episode, saying 'I have a message at a later date.' Colbert has never alleged Trump's involvement with the cancellation, and there is no evidence directly linking the president to CBS's decision.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Ends on a Hopeful Note

Colbert's late-night contemporaries joined him in his final show: Jon Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon. 'We came to say, we're going to miss you,' Kimmel said. 'Late night is not going to be the same without you.'

'Yeah, without you,' Meyers added. 'Where will Americans turn to see a middle-aged white man make jokes about the news?' Later in the episode, Colbert's friend and mentor, Jon Stewart, shared insightful advice about the cancellation.

'The only choice you have is how to walk through it,' Stewart said. 'You can go in kicking and screaming. Or you can do what you've done for the past 30 years when faced with something dark: you stare it down and you can laugh.'

Colbert's exit wraps up The Late Show, a franchise pioneered by David Letterman in 1993 before handing it over to Colbert to host. 'As we all understand, you can take a man's show, but you can't take a man's voice, so that's the good news,' Letterman told Colbert in a prior episode.