{"id":18332,"date":"2026-05-22T18:05:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T18:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/stephen-colbert-kept-the-guests-for-his-last-episode-a-secret-who-showed-up-today-com\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T18:05:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T18:05:38","slug":"stephen-colbert-kept-the-guests-for-his-last-episode-a-secret-who-showed-up-today-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/stephen-colbert-kept-the-guests-for-his-last-episode-a-secret-who-showed-up-today-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert Kept the Guests for His Last Episode a Secret. Who Showed Up? – TODAY.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shaper Shorts, Everyday Studs and More From Shop TODAY Stages: The Mom Edit<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Drew Weisholtz
\u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert\u201d signed off with a little help from the host\u2019s friends.
The final episode<\/a> of the long-running late-night TV series aired May 21 and featured a star-studded collection of guests and cameos.
The series launched in 1993 with original host David Letterman. Colbert took over in 2015 after Letterman retired. CBS announced in July 2025 that it would be canceling the show<\/a>.
Here\u2019s a look at who appeared on the final episode:
The Beatles legend served as the final guest and gave Colbert a picture of the Beatles on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201din 1964. That show, of course, was shot in Ed Sullivan Theater, which is where \u201cThe Late Show\u201d taped.
McCartney also helped close the show after original bandleader Jon Batiste and Elvis Costello headlined as performance that ended with Colbert saying goodnight. Before they signed off, though, McCartney appeared onstage, as he, Colbert and the other acts sang the Beatles\u2019 classic \u201cHello, Goodbye\u201d to close out the episode.
The Emmy-winning \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d star, sitting in the audience, appeared when he interrupted Colbert\u2019s opening monologue, feigning disappointment when he was told there were too many guests to squeeze him in.
A crestfallen and hurt Cranston barged out of the theater and tossed his \u201cLate Show\u201d hat in the audience. \u201cYou can keep your stupid hat, I\u2019m gonna go sell my ticket,\u201d he said.
The \u201cAnt-Man\u201d star, who was also in the audience, was gung ho about reading a long poem, only to be told that he would also not be the final guest.
\u201cWell, I guess it\u2019s a little awkward that I brought you the traditional retirement gift,\u201d he replied, referencing a half dozen bananas he had with him.
The former \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d star and longtime friend of Colbert\u2019s, sitting in front of Rudd, was more open with his faux anger at being told he wouldn\u2019t be the last guest.
\u201cScrew you, Colbert!\u201d he said before storming out with Rudd\u2019s bananas.
The comedian, known for being oblivious about pop culture, took a different approach to being on hand for the finale, saying she had no interest in the show. She said she\u2019s more into \u201chistoric events\u201d and wasn\u2019t even aware that it was Colbert\u2019s final show.
The \u201cDeadpool\u201d star rolled with the punches when he discovered that he, too, would not be the last guest.
\u201cIn that case, I\u2019m just happy to be here, pay my respects to the, one of the world\u2019s greatest entertainers on his last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater,\u201d he said.
After Colbert thanked him, Reynolds turned the tables by saying he was talking about his keyboardist, Corey Bernhard, while also holding six bananas that he handed to Bernhard as they exchanged a hug.
Talk about an eclectic mix of talent. The group appeared in a segment where a wormhole opened up to suck up the show and continued the support Colbert had gotten from fellow late-night hosts Oliver, Fallon, Meyers, and Kimmel, who appeared on his show<\/a> earlier this month.
Andy Cohen also made a brief appearance in the bit. Kimmel and Fallon each aired reruns of their respective shows last night to help keep the focus on Colbert.
Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from \u201cThe Karate Kid\u201d and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLCApple\u00ae, Apple logo\u00ae and App Store\u00ae are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shaper Shorts, Everyday Studs and More From Shop TODAY Stages: The Mom Edit Drew Weisholtz\u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert\u201d signed off with a little help from the host\u2019s friends.The final episode of the long-running late-night TV series aired May 21 and featured a star-studded collection of guests and cameos.The series launched in 1993 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}