The CBS late-night show will conclude its run on May 21.

*The Late Show With Stephen Colbert *will have an ‘extended’ finale — find out when it’ll end

The CBS late-night show will conclude its run on May 21.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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on May 21, 2026 12:29 p.m. ET

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show'. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS/Getty

- Stephen Colbert's final episode of *The Late Show *will go beyond the usual hour-long runtime. - Details about who will appear in the franchise finale are being kept under wraps. - The final episode of *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert *airs on Thursday, May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Stephen Colbert is gonna need more than an hour to end his 11-year run on *The Late Show*.

As the late-night host's epic farewell approaches, more details are being unveiled about the May 21st final broadcast that will not only mark the end of Colbert's tenure but the final days of the *Late Show* franchise as a whole.

In new promos, CBS boats that Thursday's send-off will be an "extended *Late Show* series finale," indicating that Colbert's final episode will run beyond the show's usual allotted hour.

The network did not specify the exact runtime of the finale and did not reply to **'s request for comment, but TV listings reveal that the episode will run 19 minutes longer, scheduled to end at 12:54 a.m. ET/PT.

'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on February 16, 2026.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

It's unclear who will be joining Colbert in the Ed Sullivan Theater for his fond farewell. Leading up to Thursday, the show featured appearances from Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne, and Bruce Springsteen — but CBS is being tight-lipped about who will appear in the very last episode.

Colbert's time with* The Late Show* won't end when the camera cuts. After the final episode tapes on May 21, to be broadcast later that night, it will be followed by an epic after-party at a nearby event space, per *Variety*. Invitations for the festivities read, "That's a WRAP! (PARTY)," with the dress code described as "Fired & Festive!"

The guest list for the event will, of course, include the stars set to appear in the finale, in addition to several other celebrities.

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In July, CBS announced that *The Late Show* would conclude its historic 33-year run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season, retiring Colbert's show and the franchise as a whole. The network has insisted that its decision to pull the plug on the franchise was "purely a financial one" and that it wasn't "related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

However, many have skeptically pointed to the timing of the announcement, pointing out that Colbert had criticized CBS' corporate parent, Paramount Global, for agreeing to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on *60 Minutes*. Notably, Trump has long been vocal about his disdain for Colbert and celebrated news of *The Late Show*'s cancellation on social media.

Stephen Colbert during 'The Late Show' on May 6, 2026.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Meanwhile, Colbert has not held back his own feelings about the cancellation. Days after the news arrived, he responded to the president's remarks during his July 21 monologue, stating, "Folks, I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Cancel culture has gone too far. Over the weekend, it sunk in that they're killing off our show. But they made one mistake: They left me alive. And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off."

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Colbert has taken an unconventional approach to his final episodes. Last week, David Letterman joined the host to chuck furniture off the Ed Sullivan Theater roof and onto a CBS target. Then, on Monday, he broke the show's usual format by inviting his staff members to present previously rejected and unaired bits from throughout the show's run.

Colbert's final episode will air with no other late-night competition, as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have announced that their programs will go dark on Thursday, with ABC and NBC airing reruns of their show instead of new episodes.

The final episode of *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert *airs on Thursday, May 21, at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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