Stephen Colbert is throwing a party to mark the end of his reign on his eponymous late-night show following its cancellation by CBS.
The comedian declared a tongue-in-cheek “fired and festive” dress code for the event, seemingly shading his employers after the network pulled the plug on the show over financial issues.
Colbert has also continued to take shots at CBS and Donald Trump, joking that “cancel culture has gone too far.”
Colbert seems determined to make sure his embattled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” closes on a high, hilarious note.
After the show’s final taping at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on Thursday, Colbert and his guests will reportedly head to a nearby event space for an after-party.
According to Variety, sources say the invitation features an edited version of the show’s red, white, and blue logo, which reads, “The LAST SHOW with Stephen Colbert,” followed by “that’s a WRAP! (PARTY).” The dress code is reportedly “Fired & Festive!”
CBS Pulled The Plug On ‘Colbert’ Last July
The late-night veteran began hosting the show in 2015 after taking over from David Letterman. He transitioned from his famous satirical Comedy Central persona into a more traditional late-night host, with his monologues often tackling the American political landscape.
In July 2025, CBS announced it would pull the plug on the franchise at the end of the 2025–2026 broadcast season, describing Colbert as “irreplaceable.”
Although the network insisted the decision was financial, the announcement raised eyebrows, coming shortly after Colbert slammed its parent company, Paramount, over a $16 million settlement with Trump. The payment stemmed from accusations that “60 Minutes” maliciously edited a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.
Stephen Colbert Admits He Wanted A Different Ending
Colbert has not held back since then, often trolling CBS and taking jabs at his corporate bosses’ close ties to the president, as well as reports that his show was losing $40 million a year.
However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Colbert admitted he did not expect things to end the way they did and would have preferred to be “just a little older” before walking out the door.
“And it would have been my choice, and I probably would have known what the final show was going to be a little bit earlier,” he said when asked how he would have preferred to end the show.
He continued, “On ‘The Colbert Report,’ I picked that day — I didn’t tell anybody, but I knew two years ahead of time. Well, we didn’t pick this day. We know what it’ll be now, but it took a few months. But maybe they gave me a gift because I had a lot of jokes I could make about the end of the show, and if I’d decided to end the show, then I’m the bad guy — hard to make jokes about that.”
Colbert Teases His Next Act
Colbert’s show will be replaced by Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed,” and he revealed that he texted Allen to congratulate him once he found out.
“When I found out, I wrote him the next morning, and I said, ‘Hey, congrats. I heard you got the time. Good for you. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could drop Mr. Carson a note?” he said.
As for life after the late-night show, Colbert is set to return to co-writing the “Lord of the Rings” movie, with Variety reporting that he pitched the script before his show was canceled.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he also alluded to reentering show business, confirming he had been approached with scripts.
“Listen, people have been patient because I’ve had to say, ‘I’m sorry, when I no longer have to think about this show all the time, I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do,” he said.
Stephen Colbert Says He’s Not Afraid Of Trump
In an interview with PEOPLE, Colbert addressed the political implications of his ousting, saying that while he cannot control the public narrative around the cancellation, he is not afraid of any potential fallout with Trump.
The billionaire politician fired shots at him last July after the announcement of his show’s cancellation, writing on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
“I don’t have any fear of the administration doing anything to me,” Colbert told the outlet. “We’re clowns. How much does it diminish the office of the presidency to even notice what we say? That guy needs to know how to pick his battles, metaphorically and literally.”
