Stephen Colbert’s Final Late Show Episode Just Revealed Its Last Guest — And The Celebrity Cameos Have Fans Emotional

The final episode of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ aired on Thursday, May 21

Stephen Colbert ended The Late Show with a little help from his celebrity friends.

On Thursday, May 21, Colbert hosted the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with his typical funny commentary on the headlines of the day. As he read through the news, Bryan Cranston interrupted the opening monologue.

Cranston was disappointed when Colbert told him the guest list was too packed for him to come to the stage. “What the hell am I here for?” the actor joked. The actor then stormed out of the theater and threw his Late Show hat into the crowd. “You can keep your stupid hat, I’m gonna go sell my ticket.”

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Later, Paul Rudd chimed in. “Just curious when our interview starts” he said. “I have an extremely long poem I want to recite, and I don’t want to run out of time.”

When Colbert told him he’s not the last guest, Rudd said, “Well, I guess it’s a little awkward that I brought you the traditional retirement gift” of six bananas. Then, Tim Meadows, who was seated near Rudd, also hoping for a chance to be on the show. When he was also told he wouldn’t be the last guest he replied: “Screw you, Colbert!”

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Later during the next segment, comedian Tig Notaro was also in the audience, but she joked that she didn’t want to be on the show. She just enjoys attending “historic events.” Then, Ryan Reynolds popped up. When he was also told he wasn’t the final guest he responded: “Ouchie!”

“Well, you know, in that case, I’m just happy to be here, you know, pay my respects to the, one of the world’s greatest entertainers on his last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater,” the actor said.

When Colbert thanked him, Reynolds corrected him. “I was, talking about your keyboardist Corey Bernhard.”

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After the next commercial break, the host teased that Pope Leo XIV (whom he said he wanted as guest), canceled because the hot dogs were bad.

Instead, Paul McCartney saved the day and became Colbert’s final guest. He presented Colbert with a framed color photo of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, which was filmed at the very same theater.

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Later, the show was taken over by a “wormhole,” which led to a bit with appearances from Jon Stewart, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Elijah Wood.

Afterward, Elvis Costello and Jon Baptiste joined Colbert to perform. Baptiste was Colbert’s first bandleader and musical director on The Late Show from 2015 to 2022.

There was a fade to black. After Colbert said good night, he joined McCartney and the other musicians to perform The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye.”

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Colbert, who took over the show from David Letterman in 2015, announced on July 17, 2025 that the Late Show was cancelled by CBS after 30 years on air. The network called the move “purely a financial decision” at the time.

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“I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show. We get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years,” Colbert said when he revealed the news during the show.

CBS’ decision to axe the late-night program arrived days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, during his July 14 episode for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump, who alleged that CBS News’ 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount was also in the middle of a merger with the entertainment company Skydance at the time.

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Colbert’s final week of shows also included appearances from former Daily Show colleague Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne.

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“I hope they laughed. I hope they felt better at the end of the day,” he said of fans. “I mean, that’s it. We’re there. We’re the last thing you see. A lot of things happen in a day, but we bat last, and so we get the last take that people hear before they go to bed, and I hope it made their day better.”

While the ending of the show went out with a musical bang, the host was reflective at the start. He began the final taping by explaining what a joy the show was to make.

“This show, I want you to know, has been a joy for us to do for you. In fact, we call this show The Joy Machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine,” Colbert said. “But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears, and, and I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other, so I will just say to them, you are all the great Achilles whom we knew.”

Colbert continued, “I just want to let all y’all know in here and out there how important you’ve been to what we have done. The energy that you’ve given us, we sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you for the last 11 years. You’ve given it to us, we’ve given it all right back to you.”

Before he began his final show he said, “We love doing this show for you, but we really, really love is doing the show with you. Now, I’ll say to you what I’ve said to every audience for the last 11 years, and I’ve meant it every time: Have a good show. Thanks for being here. And let’s do it, y’all.”