Stephen—who began hosting The Late Show in 2015 following David Letterman's departure—acknowledged his staff, too, adding, “I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other.”

As for how the comedian signed off the final episode? Well, with the help of his former band leader Jon Batiste, he rocked out to The Beatles’ song “Hello, Goodbye” alongside Sir Paul. 

“I don’t know why you say goodbye,” Stephen sang, “I say hello.”

Colbert—who announced in July 2025 that CBS had canceled the show—received quite the star-studded send-off as Steven Spielberg and Bruce Springsteen joined him in his final week of Late Night episodes.

As for who will be filling Colbert's 11:35 p.m. time slot going forward?

In April, CBS confirmed that Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen will be replacing The Late Show. The comedy talk show—which previously aired at 12:35 a.m. after Colbert—will be followed by Byron Allen's other late night game show Funny You Should Ask.

And Colbert has no bad blood with his new stand-in.

"God bless him. I know Byron," he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published May 7. "We got to know each other last year, actually. He’s fascinating."

Colbert also acknowledged Allen's legacy as the youngest comedian to ever perform on The Tonight Show when it was hosted by the late Johnny Carson in 1979.

"When I found out, I wrote him the next morning," he continued. "I said, 'Hey, congrats. I heard you got the time. Good for you. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could drop Mr. Carson a note?'"

As for his thoughts on being replaced by a fellow comic? Colbert added of the network's new direction, "It’s none of my business."

In the end, the Colbert Report alum—who will be plenty busy in the coming months writing the new Lord of the Rings film—just hopes he'll be remembered for bringing viewers joy every night for over a decade.

"I want to be remembered as a comedy show," he told the outlet. "We harvest laughter for a living, and ultimately that’s the thing I want more than anything else. I just want to make the audience laugh."

Read on to learn the fate of more of your favorite TV shows…