Stephen Colbert closed The Late Show with emotion, surprise guests, and barely any Trump jokes. The longtime host avoided direct attacks on Donald Trump during his final CBS broadcast Thursday. Instead of turning the finale into a political rant, Colbert focused more on gratitude, comedy, and the people around him.
What happened on the last episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert?
After months of public tension surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show, many viewers expected Stephen Colbert to spend his final episode unloading on Donald Trump and CBS. That never really happened. Despite Trump being one of Colbert’s favorite political targets for years, the comedian mostly kept the president out of the finale entirely (via EW).
The decision stood out because CBS canceled the show last year amid ongoing speculation about political pressure tied to Paramount Global’s merger plans and Trump’s public support for the cancellation.
The closest Stephen Colbert came to directly referencing Trump happened during his interview with Paul McCartney. While remembering The Beatles’ famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, McCartney joked that makeup artists made the band look “bright orange” before their television debut.
Colbert smiled and replied, “That’s very popular in certain circles these days.” The audience understood the reference immediately, but Colbert stopped there and never mentioned Trump by name during the rest of the show.
Even without heavy political jokes, the finale still included a few subtle shots tied to the controversy around the show’s ending. During one segment, Colbert discussed copyright lawsuits involving the Peanuts theme song.
His band suddenly started playing “Linus and Lucy,” prompting Colbert to joke, “I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money.” It became one of the night’s biggest laughs and another clear wink at the financial explanation CBS gave for canceling the show.
The rest of the episode leaned more emotional than political. Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver appeared together to support Colbert during a bizarre comedy sketch involving a fictional black hole swallowing the studio. Jon Stewart also returned to help send off his former Daily Show colleague.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on ComingSoon.
