In the final episode of “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert mocked CBS over recent lawsuits targeting unauthorized use of “Peanuts” music—then had his band play the theme anyway, prompting a last-minute joke about who would pay. The gag played out against a backd
Stephen Colbert didn’t wait for his final goodbye to take one more swing at CBS.
During the farewell episode of “The Late Show. ” while discussing recent lawsuits filed by the copyright owners of music from “Peanuts. ” the host turned the conversation into a bit. He instructed his band to run a gag in which they would “illegally” play the iconic theme—complete with a mock callout aimed at the bandleader as the music rolled.
“‘Peanuts’ is a powerful brand and corporation in and of itself. Anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose,” Colbert said, as his band played the “Charlie Brown” franchise track, before pivoting to a chorus of pretend concern directed at his own group.
“Louis, Louis! Is the band right now playing the same ‘Peanuts’ music I just said people were being sued for, for using without permission? Is that what you’re doing?” he asked.
As the band continued, bandleader Louis Cato confirmed the music kept playing. Colbert immediately followed with the line meant to land like a punchline and a warning at the same time: “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!”
The joke carried an extra layer of specifics. The “Charlie Brown Christmas” song, titled “Linus And Lucy,” is under a BMI license, which CBS holds.
The farewell episode still found room for other, more straightforward digs at the network. In one pretaped bit. Colbert investigated an interdimensional wormhole that threatened all of late-night TV—after being “spawned” by the cancellation of the show. Jon Stewart then appeared to read a statement from CBS’ parent company. Paramount. joking that the company “strongly believes in covering both sides” of the black hole.
The deeper tension behind all of it, though, was already set months earlier. CBS announced its controversial decision to cancel “The Late Show” in July, framing it as “purely a financial decision.” Critics, however, have questioned whether the cancellation was politically motivated.
In the end. Colbert’s last episode left no doubt about the mood: even as the show wrapped. the arguments around CBS—financial. cultural. and legal—weren’t finished. The “Peanuts” music gag didn’t change the outcome of the cancellation. But it did turn the final moments into a reminder that. for Colbert. the dispute with the network was never just about one program ending.
Stephen Colbert The Late Show CBS Paramount Peanuts music Charlie Brown Linus And Lucy BMI license copyright lawsuits Louis Cato Jon Stewart late-night TV cancellation