The last “Late Show” episode tried to be a regular “Late Show” episode until it became impossible.
Host Stephen Colbert has been in an impossible position since his firing was announced in July of last year, about a year before the final episode aired, but he deserves praise for delivering a joke-filled monologue and continuing to tell jokes at his desk afterwards. (Notably, he avoided mentioning President Trump, as Trump’s rise in his first term spurred Colbert’s own success at CBS, and his quest for revenge in his second term likely shut down CBS.) The funniest part of the show’s first half was when Colbert mentioned a lawsuit by the composer of the famous “Peanuts” music, before his band brought up the “Linus and Lucy” theme as if to allude to a lawsuit against CBS. It was very interesting! Colbert’s firing was unjust and he is right to have fun.
However, Colbert ultimately couldn’t escape being Colbert as the episodes progressed, and the final show sadly proved his show’s staleness. Unfortunately, this host has no talent for either interviews or sketches. In the former, they talked relentlessly about Paul McCartney, a chosen guest given his Beatle ties to the Ed Sullivan Theater. In one particularly clever moment, Colbert tried to unseat McCartney by asking if he had ever met the Pope. (McCartney didn’t, but Colbert did, which is why he asked to brag about it. But McCartney is a Beatle.) This evoked a strangely understated scene in which the actor who played Pope Leo said that a hot dog at the Ed Sullivan Theater wouldn’t meet his rider and shook his fist from behind the dressing room door.
Given almost a year’s worth of advance notice, one might think Colbert could have come up with better material. Particularly puzzling was a gory taped sketch about a wormhole consuming his studio that took up much of the show’s second half. (Conceptually, this was political in the sense that it signaled the paradox that the highest-rated show could be canceled. It was also, fittingly, a complete waste of time.) Colbert’s late-night colleagues — all the major hosts from Kimmel to Fallon to Meyers showed up — deserve credit for appearing on his last show to do whatever they wanted, but “whatever” is the better word. I wish they had more to do. If this was an attempt to get back at CBS, I hate to say it, but CBS won.
Similarly, Colbert’s appearance as a backing vocalist on McCartney’s series-closing performance of “Hello, Goodbye” was baffling. What will his stage presence bring, other than the fact that it will increase his recognition as someone who has been massively and enthusiastically appreciated for a year or so? Colbert also danced with David Byrne during the final week of “The Late Show.” Perhaps I’m remembering too fondly the inferiority of Colbert’s “Late Show” predecessor, David Letterman — a host who seemed better off dead than playing music guests over and over again — but something seems to have been lost long before “The Late Show” itself was canceled.
I previously wrote that the end of Colbert’s “Late Show” seemed to reveal that the host was not without a healthy ego, as the production allowed one guest after another to pay tribute to Colbert’s contributions to democracy and the wider world. (McCartney seemed eager to talk about his music career, perhaps surprising Colbert, who was used to a different tone than his guests.) In the early days of President Trump’s first and second terms, the show offered meaningful solace to viewers who didn’t know where to turn. Over the past few months, I’ve realized how amazing it is to have been able to do that once. It’s good that this show made people feel good. Once you realize that, it’s okay to move on. Colbert will continue dancing – perhaps on another network or streaming service. And maybe a period of time on Earth will soften his comedy, making him less wormhole-y and more consistent with the joke-filled monologues that we all know and can pull off easily.
