Kimmel urges viewers to watch Colbert's Late Show finale on CBS

Jimmy Kimmel turned Stephen Colbert’s last night on CBS into a broadcast event, urging viewers to tune in to CBS “for the last time” and watch the finale of “The Late Show.” ABC followed by scheduling a rerun of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on May 21, 2026, while NBC also planned a repeat of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” a coordinated pause that underscored how unusual Colbert’s farewell had become.

CBS had announced in July 2025 that it would end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the next TV season, calling the move a financial decision and insisting it was “not related in any way” to the show’s performance, content, or matters at Paramount. Colbert then set the final episode for Thursday, May 21, 2026, closing a franchise that began in 1993 when David Letterman brought “The Late Show” from NBC to CBS.

The final stretch of Colbert’s run became a late-night reunion. In a May 2026 episode, Colbert hosted Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and David Letterman, bringing together the biggest names in broadcast comedy to talk about the pressures facing late-night television and Donald Trump’s fixation on it. Colbert’s final week also featured extra guests and special segments, giving the show a high-profile sendoff rather than a quiet sign-off.

The reaction around Colbert’s exit has reflected a larger anxiety inside television. Late-night shows once depended on broad, shared audiences and a nightly civic rhythm that made political satire part of the country’s common conversation. That model has weakened as viewers scatter across digital platforms and networks confront the rising cost of producing these programs. Colbert’s finale has become consequential not just because a familiar host is leaving, but because the format itself has lost much of the cultural reach that made it powerful.

Trump’s response sharpened the politics around the cancellation. He publicly celebrated CBS’s decision in July 2025 and suggested Kimmel could be next, a reaction that only deepened the sense that late-night’s waning influence still matters to presidents, networks and comedians alike. Colbert’s closing night marked the end of a CBS institution that defined broadcast comedy for more than three decades, and a reminder that network television is no longer guaranteed the national stage it once commanded.