May 22, 2026 — 5:00pmIn the end, even Pope Leo XIV couldn’t save Stephen Colbert, as the curtain fell on The Late Show after 11 seasons on Thursday night (US time).His Holiness had been Colbert’s dream guest for the final episode – instead there was a faux “pope” who refused to come out of his dressing room, enraged at the standard of the hot dogs – so it was left to Sir Paul McCartney to farewell Colbert and the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where the Beatles made their US debut in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show.Stephen Colbert addresses the audience during the final episode of The Late Show on Thursday night (US time). CBS via Getty ImagesA singalong closed out the episode, with Colbert and McCartney joined on stage by Elvis Costello and The Late Show’s former and current band leaders Jon Batiste and Louis Cato in a rendition of the Beatles’ song Hello, Goodbye.McCartney also gave Colbert a farewell gift – a signed colour photo of the Beatles onstage at the theatre – with Colbert joking that the inscription read: “Stephen, you’re better than the Beatles.”Colbert had earlier been joined by his former Daily Show boss Jon Stewart and Strike Force Five – fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver – who urged him to accept his fate, as Colbert stood in front of an “interdimensional wormhole” caused by the “cancellation [that] has created a rip in the comedy-variety-talk continuum, and if it grows, all of late-night television could be destroyed”.Oliver reassured him: “At some point, this may come for all of our shows, but Stephen, what’s important to remember, is tonight it is going to eat you.”Stephen Colbert with the “Strike Force Five” crew (from left) John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. CBS via Getty ImagesAll up, it was a subdued farewell for The Late Show, which had been stacked with big-name guests in its final weeks, including former host David Letterman, who criticised CBS for canning the show, which had run for 33 years, calling the decision “pure cowardice” and its executives “lying weasels” for blaming the axing on cost pressures instead of pressure from US President Donald Trump.Colbert opened his final episode by talking directly to the audience, sitting perched on his desk and telling them that if they had only just tuned in they had “missed a lot”.“Tonight is our final broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theatre,” he said. “We were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years … Actually, technically, our first show, back in July of 2015, was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, for an audience of 12 people, and show business being what it is these days is probably where you’ll see me next.”Colbert said he was determined his final show wouldn’t be anything special, as he considered every episode to be special, and he pretty much stuck to his word. Celebrity guests weren’t in abundance, with actors Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds the only famous faces, all vying for the honour of being the final interview.Paul McCartney’s parting gift to Stephen Colbert – a photo of the Beatles appearing on the same set for the Ed Sullivan Show 62 years ago.CBS via Getty ImagesPhysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson appeared to explain the green wormhole, but otherwise it was a relatively quiet gathering of family and friends, with several of Colbert’s siblings in the audience, while his wife and sons joined him on stage at the end, along with the cast and crew.The honour of turning the lights out went to McCartney, who flicked the switch that activated the wormhole, sucking the Ed Sullivan Theatre into a snow globe. It was a weirdly fitting ending, as what has happened to Colbert does feel like it belongs in some type of alternate universe, where the government gets to decide who has a voice.From our partners