Stephen Colbert has entered the final week of saying goodbye to The late show with May 21 set as the deadline.
Colbert invited The Late Show’s predecessor, the great David Letterman, on the night of Thursday, May 14, 2026.
To celebrate the end of an era, the two late-night comedians entered the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The audience and viewers were stunned when the two threw some props onto the network’s eye brand logo.
The late show Host Colbert has followed an approach of inviting notable celebrities and their industry friends.
Among them were Kimmel, Oliver, Meyers and Fallon, as well as Tom Hanks, Julia Louis Dreyfus and former President Barack Obama.
Letterman was greeted with a long applause and a buzz Seven Nations Army playing as background music.
Letterman came on stage and sympathized with Colbert.
He said, “Well, do you know what happened backstage? I’m backstage, a guy comes up, says he’s from CBS, and fires me. What’s going on there?!” Letterman showed his characteristic satire.
“I have every right to be angry, so I’m going to be a little angry here,” he continued.
“In this theater, you guys wouldn’t be in this theater if it weren’t for me, and Stephen wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me.
“And we rebuilt this theater, and then Stephen came in and look at this? It’s like the Bellagio. But listen… as we all understand, you can accept a man’s show, you can’t accept a man’s voice.”
Letterman then asked Colbert if Skydance owned the stage furniture, and Colbert told him the network did.
Letterman paid some stagehands to remove the couches before the two sat with the audience and reminisced about their time at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The two comedy powerhouses then took to the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater to engage in reckless destruction of CBS property.
Stephen Colbert’s 11-year stint at CBS as host of The late show ends on May 21, 2026.
