Stephen Colbert Signs Off “The” “Late Show”'s Final Episode by Singing a Beatles Classic with Paul McCartney

Brenton Blanchet, Daniel S. LevineFri, May 22, 2026 at 5:40 AM UTC

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Stephen Colbert with Paul McCartney on 'The Late Show' on May 21
Credit: cbs -

Stephen Colbert ended his time on The Late Show with a musical performance

The final episode of the CBS late-night show aired on Thursday, March 21

Colbert joined musical greats on stage including McCartney, Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste

Stephen Colbert has officially said goodbye to The Late Show.

On May 21, Colbert filmed The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's final episode and it was filled with heartfelt tributes, celebrity cameos and musical performances.

After an episode packed with celebrity drop-ins, Colbert led a rousing sing-along of The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" with Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste in the show's final moments. Towards the end, the audience joined them onstage during the song's famous coda.

The show cut to a clip of Colbert and McCartney near a giant light switch to the Ed Sullivan Theater. After they pulled it, a wormhole (seen earlier in the episode) shrunk the building into a snow globe. Viewers were taken outside the theater at street-level, and as the show's theme song played, Colbert's dog Benny came by to sniff the globe.

The last shot of 'The Late Show' featuring Colbert's dog Benny
Credit: cbs

"Come on Benny, let's go," Colbert said, as he ended the show for good.

Colbert's final show comes nearly a year after the host announced during the July 17, 2025 episode that TheLate Show — which he took over from David Letterman in 2015 — was coming to an end after over 30 years. CBS called the move "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."

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Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty

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At the time of his announcement, Colbert said he was thankful for his TV "home" of a decade. "I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show. We get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I've had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years," he said.

His final week of shows included appearances from former Daily Show colleague Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne.

The Colbert Report alum spoke with PEOPLE ahead of his final episode, as he teased his final signoff was going to be “something simple."

"I hope they laughed. I hope they felt better at the end of the day," Colbert said of his viewers. "I mean, that's it. We're there. We're the last thing you see. A lot of things happen in a day, but we bat last, and so we get the last take that people hear before they go to bed, and I hope it made their day better."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”