Stephen Colbert To Reunite With Major Late Night Hosts for Show’s Final Episodes

Stephen Colbertwill be joined by hosts from other majorlate-night showsahead of his show’s conclusion onMay 21. This is not the first time the group has reunited, as they previously came together during the2023 WGA strikefor a12-episode podcast seriesthat supported their employees while the shows were not airing.

Following the cancellation ofThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host is now set to be involved in an hour-longprocedural dramacentered on two detectives who are also uncles. He will also be writing aLord of the Ringsproject alongside his son,Peter.

David Letterman and more hosts to unite with Stephen Colbert on Late Show

Colbert’s second-to-last week begins on Monday, May 11, ahead of the show’s ending on May 21, and will feature appearances from his fellow late-night hosts (via EW).

The guest lineup includes Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver. On May 14, David Letterman, who passed theLate Showlegacy to Colbert upon his retirement in 2015, will also make an appearance. The penultimate week’s guest lineup also includes Pedro Pascal, Billy Crystal, Ina Garten, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Tom Hanks.

During an episode of The Barbara Gaines Show, Letterman shared his thoughts on CBS canceling Colbert’s show and replacing it with Byron Allen’s comedy talk show, Comics Unleashed. Hesaid, “They don’t want to spend any money, so they’re going to make money.”

The popular host announced his show’s departure back in July 2025, disclosing the final air date without detailing what led to the cancellation. CBS later released a statement clarifying that finances drove the decision, not the show’s performance.

The network said in the statement, “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount” (viaCNN). Reports have suggested the network was losing upward of $40 million a year on the production.

Recently, Colbert also showcased a teaser of the hour-long procedural drama he has been working on, titledUncle Cops. It is a story about Mitch and Bob, who try to balance their professional duties as detectives while being good uncles to their nephews. It features Colbert and John C. Reilly.