Stephen Colbert defied Paramount and CBS by making a surprise return to television just one day after filming the final episode of “The Late Show.”
Colbert was the guest host on last Friday’s episode of “Only in Monroe,” broadcast from Monroe, Michigan, on Michigan Public Access.
He began his local broadcast at 11:35 p.m. local time with a pointed message to Paramount, which owns CBS (the network that aired his evening show).
“I’m grateful to be on Monroe Community Media before it was acquired by Paramount because 23 hours without television was excruciating,” Colbert joked.
He then took direct aim at CBS for local viewers.
“Viewers outside the greater Monroe area can watch Monroe Community Media thanks to a mechanism known as streaming, but I promised not to learn about that while I was at CBS,” he said, adding, “And apparently CBS has decided not to learn about that either.”
Colbert, 62, welcomed several stars to his show, including musician Jack White and actor Jeff Daniels.
He also FaceTimed comedian Byron Allen, who is scheduled to take over Colbert’s CBS time slot.
Colbert ended the final episode of his late-night show last Thursday after more than a decade as host.
He gave an emotional farewell to the audience and staff at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.
“This show was such a joy for us to do for you guys,” he said in part.
“I can’t say enough about what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we value each other,” Colbert continued. “We love playing shows for you, but what we really love is playing shows with you.”
Stars such as Paul McCartney, Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds appeared in the final recording.
Colbert celebrated the end of his late-night run with a star-studded afterparty at New York City’s event space Second at the Kimpton Hotel Eventi.
Notable attendees included Drew Barrymore, Ewan McGregor, Padma Lakshmi, Tiffany Haddish, John Oliver, Katie Couric, Gayle King, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Batiste, Anderson Cooper, Bernadette Peters, and more.
Colbert shocked fans in July 2025 when he announced that CBS was canceling “The Late Show.”
“I’m not going to be replaced,” Colbert said at the time. “This is all just going to go away.”
The network released a statement calling Colbert an “irreplaceable figure” and explaining that it was retiring from the series “The Late Show,” which was hosted by David Letterman from 1993 until 2015, when Colbert took over.
“We are proud that Stephen called CBS home,” they said in a statement. “He and his broadcasts will be remembered in the pantheon of greats who have graced late-night television.”
CBS also claimed that there was a “challenging late night background” for the show’s ending.
CBS said it had “no connection whatsoever to the performance or content of the show or anything else going on at Paramount.”
Colbert came under the ax shortly after criticizing Paramount, which settled with President Trump for $16 million after suing the company for allegedly editing a “60 Minutes” interview with Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris.
Page Six has reached out to CBS for comment.
