Colbert eschews politics during final ‘Late Show’ on CBS
Colbert, who repeatedly thanked his staff and viewership for supporting him during his 11 years on CBS, read headlines of the day as part of his opening monologue but cracked light-hearted jokes that abstained from partisan politics or references to the president, of whom he has been a vocal critic. “We were here to feel the news with you,” Colbert said, reflecting on his time with CBS and his role as host. His final episode came with a number of cameos from Hollywood celebrities, including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds, and it featured Beatles icon Paul McCartney as his final guest.
- ▪Colbert, who repeatedly thanked his staff and viewership for supporting him during his 11 years on CBS, read headlines of the day as part of his opening monologue but cracked light-hearted jokes that abstained from partisan politics or refe
- ▪“We were here to feel the news with you,” Colbert said, reflecting on his time with CBS and his role as host.
- ▪His final episode came with a number of cameos from Hollywood celebrities, including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds, and it featured Beatles icon Paul McCartney as his final guest.
10 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 35 hours. Coverage spans 3 points on the political spectrum — 6 lean left, 2 centre, 1 lean right.
- ▪ Stephen Colbert’s Final Late Show Was a Joyful Act of Defiance — Consequence (of Sound)
- ▪ Watch highlights from Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' finale — NBC News — Top
- ▪ The most striking moments from Stephen Colbert's last show — Business Insider
- ▪ Here’s Where to Watch the Final Episode of ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Online — Billboard
- ▪ ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Is Ending Tonight With A Special Extended Finale — Forbes — Business
- ▪ ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’: Here’s Where to Watch the Final Episode Online — The Hollywood Reporter
- ▪ Final Episode of 'Late Show With Stephen Colbert' Set to Air — TODAY.com
- ▪ Stephen Colbert’s Final ‘Late Show’ Marks the End of an Era — NYT > Top Stories
- ▪ Stephen Colbert Teases ‘Late Show’ Finale & Reflects On The End: “It’s Getting Much Realer” — Deadline
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| Original publisher | The Hill |
| Canonical URL | https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5890746-colbert-late-show-finale/ |
| Publication time | Fri, 22 May 2026 05:45:54 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-22T06:17:00.750Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-22T06:17:01.824Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | bF7TuPYk6PFh · 10 stories |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Media Colbert eschews politics during final ‘Late Show’ on CBS Comments: by Dominick Mastrangelo - 05/22/26 1:45 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Dominick Mastrangelo - 05/22/26 1:45 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Stephen Colbert largely steered clear of politics or direct criticism of President Trump during his final broadcast of “The Late Show” on Thursday night. Colbert, who repeatedly thanked his staff and viewership for supporting him during his 11 years on CBS, read headlines of the day as part of his opening monologue but cracked light-hearted jokes that abstained from partisan politics or references to the president, of whom he has been a vocal critic. “We were here to feel the news with you,” Colbert said, reflecting on his time with CBS and his role as host.
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