All Stephen Colbert's final guests, including Paul McCartney surprise
All Stephen Colbert's final guests, including Paul McCartney surprise
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY Fri, May 22, 2026 at 4:37 AM UTC
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The stars showed up for Stephen Colbert to bid farewell to his final "The Late Show."
During the finale on Thursday, May 21, Colbert welcomed a starry list of guests to the Ed Sullivan Theater for his final taping, including Paul McCartney, Ryan Reynolds, and Paul Rudd.
Colbert's first guests interrupted his monologue
Bryan Cranston made the first cameo, interrupting Colbert during his monologue and eventually tossing his "Last Show" hat onto the stage in disgust.
Later in the monologue, Rudd interrupted Colbert from the audience. "I'm just curious when my interview starts," said Rudd, who was disgruntled to find out he was not Colbert's last guest.
Tim Meadows was sitting in front of Rudd in the audience and thought that he, too, was Colbert's last guest.
Ryan Reynolds was surprised he wasn't Colbert's last guest
Ryan Reynolds, in the audience, was surprised he hadn't claimed the last guest spot. "Ouchie," said Reynolds.
Tig Notaro also appeared in the theater crowd. "I just like to be at historic events," the comedian said.
Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."The real final guest? Paul McCartney
"I was just in the area, doing some errands," McCartney said, after taking a seat on Colbert's couch, before the two engaged in a long interview.
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“I just remember the girls in the balcony,” McCartney said of his return to the Ed Sullivan Theater. As some women yelled from the crowd, McCartney pointed to them and said, “Not you.”
McCartney said he was not good with life changes, and revealed he hates that he has to update his iPhone.
The week leading up to Colbert's finale featured a starry lineup
It wasn't just the finale that had star power. Colbert also welcomed an elite group of guests to his show in the days leading up to the finale.
Former President Barack Obama was the sole guest on May 5, with another segment from the interview airing on May 13. The Strike Force Five podcast reunion with fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon,Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver landed on May 11.
Original "Late Show" host David Letterman returned for the entire May 14 show to throw CBS property off the Ed Sullivan Theater roof. Longtime friend and former Comedy Central colleague Jon Stewart and director Steven Spielberg appeared on the May 19 episode.
On May 20, Bruce Springsteen was the star musical guest. A host of celebrities also took part in the "Colbert Questionert," each sitting in Colbert's host chair, asking the departing host a single question before handing things off to the next person.
The guests included: Billy Crystal, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Josh Brolin, Martha Stewart,Mark Hamill, Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Daniels,Tiffany Haddish,Amy Sedaris,Ben Stiller,Aubrey Plaza, James Taylor, Robert De Niro and "CBS Evening News" anchor John Dickerson.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Colbert last 'Late Show' guests, including Paul McCartney
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
