24 hours after hosting the last ever Late Show on CBS, Stephen Colbert returned to late night… on Michigan public access TV.
Colbert hosted Only in Monroe in Monroe, Michigan at 11:30 Friday night, bringing out surprise guests like Jack White and Jeff Daniels, and surprise appearances from Steve Buscemi, Eminem and Byron Allen (via Facetime). He also hosted the show’s normal hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson (a former Miss America!).
“Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, which came to an end last night,” Colbert said at the top of the program. “It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount.”
The show, which was spotted by LateNighter, was structured like a classic late night show, albeit with a monologue focused on issues relevant to southern Michigan, and interviews. The show closed with Colbert, Baumann, Wilson, Daniels, and White destroying the Only in Monroe set in a dumpster.
In fact, as Colbert alluded to, this was the second time he hosted Only in Monroe, He also hosted an episode in th summer of 2015, before succeeding David Letterman atop The Late Show on CBS. Colbert even referenced the appearance in the late night show’s finale: “We were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years, wec an’t take this for granted,” he told the audience. “Though technically our first show in July of 2015 was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan for an audience of 12 people. Show business being what it is these days, that’s probably where you’ll see me next.”
