Stephen Colbert took his final bow as host of The Late Show on Thursday night, bringing an end to a 33-year run on CBS that spanned two distinct eras of American late-night television. The episode, which aired in the US on 13 March 2025, featured a characteristically sharp monologue in which Colbert acknowledged the show's cancellation with a self-deprecating nod to the network.
Colbert, who took over the hosting duties in 2015 after David Letterman's retirement, used his closing remarks to thank the production team and audience while poking fun at CBS's decision to pull the plug. 'It's been a privilege to sit behind this desk, even if the network eventually decided it wanted a different piece of furniture,' he quipped, drawing laughter from the studio audience.
The programme, which began as Late Show with David Letterman in 1993 and later became The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, was a fixture of American late-night television. In the UK, however, it never gained a permanent home on terrestrial channels. Clips and highlights occasionally appeared on Sky Comedy or via streaming platforms such as Netflix, but the full show was not regularly broadcast on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, or any major British free-to-air network.
Colbert's tenure was marked by a sharp political commentary, particularly during the Trump and Biden presidencies, earning him multiple Emmy Awards and a devoted following. The show's cancellation is part of a broader trend in US television, where traditional late-night formats are giving way to shorter, digital-first content and streaming-only talk shows.
For British audiences, Colbert's departure closes a chapter on a brand of American political satire that has influenced UK programmes such as The Last Leg and Have I Got News for You. While the show was not a mainstream staple in Britain, its cultural impact on political comedy remains significant, and Colbert's final sign-off serves as a reminder of the shifting landscape of television comedy on both sides of the Atlantic.