Stephen Colbert will welcome his late-night peers to The Late Show next week as the long-running late-night program prepares to bow out for the final time on Thursday, May 21.
On the Monday, May 11 episode, Colbert will reunite the Strike Force Five, featuring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers. The group of late-night hosts previously came together for a podcast series amid the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which helped raise funds for their out-of-work writing staff.
The May 11 episode will also feature a special Broadway performance from Annaleigh Ashford, Christopher Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Ben Platt, and Patrick Wilson.
Meanwhile, late show legend David Letterman will stop by on the Thursday, May 14 episode. Letterman, who hosted The Late Show for 22 years between 1993 and 2015, has been outspoken about CBS canceling Colbert’s show.
In a new interview with The New York Times, Letterman was asked whether he accepted CBS’ explanation that The Late Show was canceled for financial reasons.
“TV may be not the money machine it once was,” Letterman said. “On the other hand, what about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite?”
He continued, “He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?’ I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying. Let me just add one other thing… They’re lying weasels.”
CBS previously cited financial reasons for the cancelation, claiming the show loses $40 million annually. At the time, some critics argued the axing was politically motivated, with parent company Paramount hoping to appease President Donald Trump amid its merger with Skydance, which required government approval.
Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers back in January, Colbert opened up about his show coming to an end. “You can do comedy in a lot of different places. There’s no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater, but it’s really the people. That’s really what I care about,” he shared. “That’s really what I’ll miss more than anything, and we’ll do something else together, but it feels real now. I’m not thrilled with it.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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