What time is final 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' episode?

Manahil Ahmad, NorthJersey.comThu, May 21, 2026 at 7:01 PM UTC

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Stephen Colbert will sign off from “The Late Show” on Thursday night, ending an 11-year run as host of CBS’ flagship late-night program and closing the curtain on a franchise that has existed for more than three decades.

The final episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is scheduled to air Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. CBS has billed the finale as an extended episode expected to run past the show’s typical end time of 12:35 a.m.

Colbert has hosted “The Late Show” since September 2015, when he succeeded David Letterman, who launched the program in 1993 after leaving NBC’s “Late Night.” Rather than replacing Colbert with a new host, CBS is ending “The Late Show” franchise entirely.

Paramount Global previously said the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and was not related to the show’s performance or content.

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During his tenure, Colbert transformed from the conservative parody persona he played on "The Colbert Report" into one of late night television’s most outspoken political commentators. His monologues regularly targeted President Donald Trump and conservative media figures, helping define the tone of late-night television during a politically polarized era.

Colbert’s final weeks on air featured a lineup of high-profile guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Letterman and “Daily Show” anchor Jon Stewart.

'Late Show' final guests

CBS has not announced who will appear on the finale. The network’s official schedule simply listed Thursday’s broadcast as “‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Series Finale.”

The end of “The Late Show” marks another major shift for the late-night television landscape, which has faced declining ratings, shrinking advertising revenue and changing viewing habits as audiences increasingly move to streaming platforms and social media clips.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' final episode time, date, schedule

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