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Stephen Colbert’s final episode as host of The Late Show brought an end to the long-running CBS late night franchise and placed a cap on 11 years of comedic takes on current events.
While Colbert famously struggled in his first few months after taking over the series from David Letterman, he hit his stride around the time of the 2016 political conventions and later provided sharp comedic commentary on the first Trump administration with the show soaring to become the most watched show in late-night TV starting in 2017.
But Colbert didn’t delight in his success amid that political climate.
“I would trade good ratings for a better president,” Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “We were ready for something that galvanized people’s attention and changed their priorities. The thank-you note is to my staff for being ready — that’s the thank-you note. Because if it’s not Donald Trump, it’s something else. There will be something else that we care about, hopefully happy, possibly tragic. But we’re ready to talk about what just happened, whenever it happens now. And that’s what we’ve learned.”
