Late-night television gathered for one final couch conversation as Stephen Colbert reunited with fellow hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver ahead of the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The reunion aired during one of Colbert’s final weeks on CBS and doubled as a nostalgic callback to “Strike Force Five,” the podcast the hosts launched during the 2023 writers strike to support out-of-work staff members. According to reports from Entertainment Weekly and The Daily Beast, the episode blended comedy with reflection, featuring playful jabs between the hosts alongside more emotional conversations about the future of late-night television.
Notably absent from the gathering was Jon Stewart, with Colbert joking that Stewart had chosen to remain the “designated survivor” of the late-night landscape.
The farewell stretch for Colbert has become a broader television event. David Letterman, who hosted The Late Show before Colbert inherited the franchise in 2015, is expected to appear during the final week. Fallon and Kimmel have also publicly acknowledged the ending of the show, with both hosts reportedly planning tribute segments tied to Colbert’s departure.
CBS confirmed earlier this year that The Late Show will end on May 21 after more than three decades on the network. Executives cited financial challenges facing the late-night format, including shrinking ad revenue and changing viewer habits, as the primary reason behind the cancellation.
The announcement quickly sparked debate across the industry, particularly after Colbert publicly criticized Paramount Global’s legal settlement involving Donald Trump. Some television veterans, including Letterman, openly questioned the timing of the network’s decision.
Still, the reunion episode leaned heavily into camaraderie rather than controversy. The sight of Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers and Oliver laughing together on one stage served as a reminder of how closely connected the modern late-night world has become — even as one of its most prominent platforms prepares to sign off permanently.