Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” finale airs Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS and streams live on Paramount+. CBS is ending the program, not replacing Colbert, and the time slot will shift to Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” starting May 22.
Stephen Colbert’s final week of “The Late Show” has landed with a kind of quiet finality that’s hard to miss. After nearly 11 years in the chair, the CBS late-night institution is ending Thursday, May 21—less than a year after CBS canceled the show.
Colbert has hosted “The Late Show” since September 2015, taking over from David Letterman, who led the program from 1993 to 2015. CBS says it is not replacing Colbert with a new host; it is ending “The Late Show” entirely. The announcement still left a mark, though. Paramount Global previously described the cancellation as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. ” and said it was not related to the show’s performance or content.
That explanation did not settle the debate. The decision sparked outcry and accusations that the move was part of a broader political calculation connected to a Paramount merger with Skydance—an effort that has since been completed.
Colbert’s sign-off weeks have come packed with familiar faces and longtime connections. He welcomed guests across the entertainment and politics worlds, including Oprah Winfrey and former President Barack Obama. He also brought back Letterman and reunited with Jon Stewart, his former “Daily Show” colleague.
The stakes now sit in what happens after the theme music stops. In a media landscape that feels more fragmented every year, “The Late Show” has long functioned as a shared nightly ritual—something people could count on, in the same way, at the same hour. CBS is moving on anyway.
The finale airs Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS. CBS has also promoted the finale as an “extended” episode, according to LateNighter, though it is not clear how much longer it will run. The show typically ends at 12:37 a.m. ET.
If you plan to watch online, “The Late Show” finale is streamed live on Paramount+ for subscribers with the Premium plan. Paramount+ Essential plan subscribers can stream the show the next day.
CBS has not published any specific guest names for May 21. The official schedule for the week provided by CBS lists May 21 simply as “’The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Series Finale,” without detailing who will appear.
Still, fans have reason to expect celebrity cameos. Colbert’s earlier series, “The Colbert Report,” ended in 2014 with a star-filled sendoff, including Patrick Stewart and Elijah Wood, as Colbert sang “We’ll Meet Again” in a room packed with guests.
Colbert’s finale also has a personal thread running through it. He has repeatedly said his “white whale” guest is the pope, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter he said he even wrote to Pope Leo XIV asking him to come on the show.
As the final episode approaches, the bigger question is what fills the empty slot on CBS. CBS is not replacing “The Late Show” with a traditional late-night talk show, at least for now. Starting May 22. Colbert’s time slot will be taken over by Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed. ” a comedy panel show in which comedians come on and perform stand-up.
Allen has also offered a glimpse of how the handoff feels from his side. He recently told a reporter that Colbert sent him a text congratulating him on taking over the time slot. “He is a wonderful human being. He is a really good guy. He’s a beautiful soul,” Allen said. “And I think he’s an American treasure. I hope that he continues to make it into our homes. He deserves to be there, and I think he’s great. I think the world of him.”.
The timeline is now set: Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET for the series finale, followed by May 22 when “Comics Unleashed” takes over the slot. For many viewers. the show’s end won’t just be a programming change—it will be the moment a familiar nightly anchor disappears. and a new one tries to take its place.
Stephen Colbert Late Show finale CBS Paramount+ Byron Allen Comics Unleashed David Letterman Jon Stewart Barack Obama Oprah Winfrey
Wait so they’re canceling Colbert but not replacing him… sounds like BS.
I swear they canceled it cuz of politics or whatever, like the merger stuff got weird. Then they say “financial decision” like that fixes it. Also I can’t believe the finale is basically just Thursday.
Byron Allen’s show is gonna be in the same spot? Isn’t that just gonna be the same jokes but louder? And didn’t they already cancel it like a year ago, so this is a rerun of the cancellation.
Stephen is done after 11 years… wow. I’m gonna miss the theme music like it’s a holiday. But I don’t get it, like why end it AND shift the time, couldn’t they just move it later and keep him? Also Paramount is merging with someone right? I heard it was because he said something about Skydance?? not sure.