Washington DC [US], May 22: Stephen Colbert bid an emotional farewell to viewers during the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which featured surprise appearances from several celebrity friends and a memorable musical ending.
The finale episode aired on May 21 and opened with Colbert’s signature humorous take on current events before Bryan Cranston interrupted the monologue, jokingly asking to be included in the show. When Colbert teased that the guest list was already full, Cranston playfully exited the theatre and tossed his Late Show hat into the audience.
Paul Rudd also made a surprise appearance, bringing Colbert a quirky retirement gift — six bananas. Comedian Tig Notaro joined the audience and joked that she only attends “historic events.” Ryan Reynolds briefly appeared to hand bananas to the band’s keyboard player.
One of the biggest highlights of the night came when Paul McCartney arrived as the final guest and gifted Colbert a framed photograph of The Beatles from their iconic 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, filmed in the same theatre.
The episode also included a special segment featuring Jon Stewart, Neil deGrasse Tyson, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Elijah Wood.
Musicians Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste later joined Colbert for a musical performance before McCartney returned to close the night with a rendition of The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye.”
Colbert, who took over the late-night show from David Letterman in 2015, had announced last year that CBS was ending the show after three decades on air, citing financial reasons. Following the conclusion of the show, Colbert is reportedly shifting his focus toward screenwriting projects.