Back in July 2025, when The Late Show was unceremoniously canceled, the end of an era of television that started in 1993 with David Letterman still seemed a long way away.
But now, quite suddenly, the time has come. The Late Show ends this month. Stephen Colbert will no longer be a daily late night staple, and — aside from co-writing a new Lord of the Rings movie — we don't yet know what the host plans to do next.
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So when exactly does The Late Show finish, and how much do we know about what the final episodes have in store?
When is Stephen Colbert's last Late Show?
The final episode of The Late Show will air on Thursday, May 21, Colbert confirmed to fellow late night show host Seth Meyers earlier this year. At the time of writing, that means we have just two weeks of shows left.
It's worth noting that this isn't just a case of Colbert himself leaving and being replaced, either — the entire Late Show is coming to an end.
How to watch the final Late Show episode?
The final episode will air at the usual time of 11:35 p.m. EST live on CBS. As always, for anyone who doesn't have CBS, videos from the show will be available on the official Late Show YouTube channel.
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Which guests will be appearing?
We don't yet know which guests will be appearing in the final week of The Late Show (we'll update this article when we know more), but the lineup for the penultimate week has been revealed in a press release sent to Mashable. We've shared the full guest list below:
Monday, May 11
The hosts of Strike Force Five – Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver
A special Broadway performance featuring Annaleigh Ashford, Christopher Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Ben Platt, and Patrick Wilson
Tuesday, May 12
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Pedro Pascal
Wednesday, May 13
President Barack Obama takes “The Colbert Questionert”
Tom Hanks
Thursday, May 14
David Letterman
Performance by The Strokes
Why is The Late Show being canceled again?
During an episode of The Late Show in July 2025, Stephen Colbert announced the show's cancelation, to a shocked reaction from the studio audience. Given that Colbert had just called out his own network for paying a $16 million settlement to Donald Trump, calling it a "big fat bribe", the timing seemed suspicious. But in a statement, CBS claimed the show was being axed for financial reasons.
"This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," CBS executives wrote. "It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
Needless to say, many — including some of Colbert's fellow late night hosts — didn't buy it, with critics pointing to the fact that CBS' parent company Paramount needed the Trump administration's approval for a proposed merger with Skydance at the time — and the U.S. president openly hates late night hosts who criticize him.