Colbert is scheduled to host the final episode of “The Late Show” in May.

John Lithgow hails Stephen Colbert as ‘beloved national treasure’

Colbert is scheduled to host the final episode of "The Late Show" in May.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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March 10, 2026 12:54 a.m. ET

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Stephen Colbert and John Lithgow on 'The Late Show' March 9. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Stephen Colbert will be missed when his *The Late Show* leaves TV in May.

Actor John Lithgow reminded the late-night host of that Monday when he stopped by the CBS staple.

The *Conclave *actor and poet read Colbert some words on the situation:

"The time has arrived/For us all to prepare/For the doleful departure of Stephen Colbert," Lithgow began. "How will we last in the gaping black hole/That's left in the absence of his merry soul?"

Colbert and his series are scheduled to end in just over two months. The franchise debuted with David Letterman as host in August 1993. Colbert took over in September 2015, and the final episode will be Thursday, May 21.

Colbert announced the news during a taping of *Late Night With Seth Meyers* in January. It followed CBS' revelation in July that the show would not return for another season.

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"*The Late Show With Stephen Colbert* will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season," the network said in a statement. "We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire *The Late Show *franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television."

The statement added that the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

Questions about the end of the series and the timing of it have persisted, though.

President Donald Trump infamously celebrated after the news broke.

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"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," Trump wrote on social media. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great *Tonight Show*."

Lithgow, who's known for his anti-Trump works, pointedly addressed the end of the series.

"So why is he canceled?/Why trash all the pleasure?/Why yank off the air this beloved national treasure?" Lithgow asked. "Stephen's tale is a lesson for all who come after/Beware of a boss with thin skin and no laughter."

Lithgow suggested that Colbert would land in a better spot eventually.

"But don't mourn for Stephen/He's going to be fine/He'll only get better/Like aging fine wine," he said. "With a talent so rich and discernment so rare/There's much more to come from the mighty Colbert."

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