Thank You, Stephen Colbert, Now, Go Out With a Bang

I sat with my three roommates and then-girlfriend (now wife) the night The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premiered on CBS, like we were awaiting a huge event. It felt massive. Someone we loved and respected, thanks to his years on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, was moving up to the big time. He was taking over a coveted spot made famous by the great David Letterman. The man would step into the famed Ed Sullivan Theater, ready to call it his home. That music (written by the great Jon Batiste) hit, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since, because it rips.

What would follow was ten years of pure Colbert. He wasn’t the faux-conservative we had come to know and love. Instead, we were greeted every night by a Stephen Colbert who seemed to fit the aesthetic of a late-night talk show host better than many others. He wasn’t trying to break the mold, like Letterman and Conan before him. Instead, he took a tried-and-true format and fit it like one of his exquisitely tailored suits, still packing in laughs along the way. I won’t lie and say I watched every episode, but whenever I tuned in, it made sense. Colbert always felt right behind that desk.

His was also the first late-night show I ever saw in person and, if current trends continue, it may be the last. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been cancelled. The final episode will air in May 2026. CBS claimed the decision was made for financial reasons. To quote Dustin Rowles, “Bullsh**.” Colbert has not been shy about criticizing our current President, and Paramount, CBS’s parent company, currently has his wrinkled, deformed, disease-ridden ballsack resting on their chin to ensure they can merge with Skydance. You do the math.

The death of late night was going to come eventually, but it didn’t need to be like this. A storied institution like The Late Show should not be done away with because of some crybaby’s fragile f***ing ego. The Ed Sullivan theater will be a bank or a souvenir show within a year, and we’ll have Jeffrey Epstein’s best friend to blame for it. It’s all making me much sadder than I expected, but also incredibly f***ing angry. However, like they say, don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

And there’s lots to smile about when thinking about the last decade of The Late Show. We got to see Colbert, Batiste, and your four favorite Hobbits rap about The Lord of the Rings. Countless celebrities took a break from the panel to help adorable puppies find a home. The Colbert Questionnaire gave us silly insights into some of our favorite guests. Jon Stewart showed up a bunch and, one time, came across like a COVID conspiracy theorist… There was good stuff!

Part of the appeal of the show was that Colbert created such a welcoming environment by being a good dude. I’m no believer in Catholicism (anymore), but it takes a saint to listen to Ricky Gervais explain why he’s an atheist. Stephen Colbert took it with a smile. He would give a shout-out to his wife, Evelyn, any chance he got. He was never afraid to show emotion on camera. I don’t know him personally, but he seems like a really wonderful guy. And, now, I’m pleading with him to throw that all away for the next ten months.

The spineless f***s at Paramount have cancelled the show, but there’s plenty of time to do some damage on the way out. Stephen, take a page out of Conan’s Tonight Show playbook and cause as much chaos on the way out as you can. But, like, chaos that would make an executive shiver in their Cartier. Feed the unhoused, pay off people’s medical debt, and give Zohran Mamdani a weekly segment. Do whatever you can to throw this horsesh** back in their faces. I have a feeling you’re going to take the high road, but you are under no obligation to do so. What will they do? Fire you again? Rattle their cage until they void your contract and then sue them into oblivion, because I’ve heard they settle pretty easily.

Stephen Colbert will move on. He will find work (if he wants). He will continue to make people laugh and smile, but that was always going to be the case. It being brought on due to an unceremonious end is a tragedy. The man deserves better, and, hopefully, after the dust settles in June 2026 and he’s moved on from these feckless cowards, he will find better.

Thank you, Stephen.