Stephen Colbert closed out The Late Show last night (May 21) the same way he spent much of the past decade reshaping it: with sentiment, political catharsis, celebrity chaos and one genuinely historic musical sendoff courtesy of Paul McCartney.
The former Beatle appeared during Colbert’s final episode to help send off both the host and the Ed Sullivan Theater itself, returning to the same stage where the Beatles famously made their U.S. television debut in 1964. In addition to a couch segment, where he recalled the group was “a little bit nervous, but we’re young kids and we’re sort of full of ourselves” back then, McCartney performed the Beatles classic “Hello, Goodbye,” joined by Colbert, Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste and the house band for one last moment of catharsis.
McCartney’s appearance carried an almost too-perfect historical symmetry: one era-defining entertainer helping close the curtain on another from the exact same Manhattan theater where Beatlemania exploded into American culture. Earlier, Colbert also played the Costello deep cut “Jump Up” with Batiste.
In a fitting last twist, Colbert and McCartney walked backstage so the latter could flip a mock circuit breaker, effectively turning off the lights on the set and also causing the theater itself to be sucked into an inter-dimensional portal of some sort.
CBS announced the Late Show cancellation in July 2025 and said it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night [TV]” rather than being motivated by Colbert’s ceaseless lampooning of Donald Trump or other factors. Following last night’s episode, a host of celebrities took to social media to deliver further plaudits, with former president Barack Obama writing on Instagram, “for more than a decade, Stephen Colbert has been one of the top voices of late night — making us laugh and, even more importantly, reminding us who we are and what America stands for. Michelle and I enjoyed being Stephen’s guests — even when the games were rigged — and we’re grateful to call him a friend.”
See the last performances below.
