{"id":1199,"date":"2026-05-25T21:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2026-05-25T21:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:07:53","slug":"stephen-colbert-bids-farewell-to-the-late-show-with-help-from-paul-mccartney-and-surprise-guests-see-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1199","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert bids farewell to \u2018The Late Show\u2019 with help from Paul McCartney and surprise guests. See highlights."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stephen Colbert has always had a bit of a surrealistic streak, with a touch of brainy absurdity peeking out from beneath his affable demeanor and nicely tailored suits. So it was fitting that when the end came for his \u201cLate Show\u201d on Thursday night, it brought an extended gag that conjured the end of \u2026 everything. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Joe Kriesberg leads the charge at MassINC to address income inequality<\/a><\/p>\n

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The lingering question of the night \u2013 who would be the final guest of Colbert\u2019s 11-year run? \u2014 had been answered. After Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, and Ryan Reynolds lobbied for the position from their seats in the audience, and Tig Notaro feigned ignorance of the night\u2019s special occasion, Paul McCartney emerged from the, er, wings to sit for Colbert\u2019s last interview at the Ed Sullivan Theater. That\u2019s a pretty good get, even if McCartney had just played \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d last week, and Sir Paul presented Colbert with a large framed photograph of the Beatles playing on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show,\u201d in the same theater, back in 1964. It was a nice way to close a TV loop.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then things got wacky and cerebral. With Colbert, you figured they would. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Going backstage to investigate a technical glitch, Colbert encountered a digitally rendered green tunnel of sorts. Neil deGrasse Tyson showed up to explain that it was an interdimensional wormhole, the product of a rift in the universe \u2014 created by the incongruity of CBS canceling the most popular show on late-night TV. Colbert\u2019s fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver arrived, with Kimmel, whose job was briefly thought to be in jeopardy last year, quipping that a similar wormhole appeared at his show but went away after a few days. Finally, the wormhole swallowed everything and everyone in the theater. Not in reality, of course. That would be major news. The bit went on a little too long, but you can\u2019t say it lacked imagination.<\/span><\/p>\n

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And then, the joy of song. First, Elvis Costello, Colbert\u2019s former bandleader Jon Batiste, and his current bandleader Louis Cato joined Colbert for a performance of Costello\u2019s bluesy \u201cJump Up\u201d before a stark black background. And the grand finale found all of the above joining McCartney and the show\u2019s house band, the Great Big Joy Machine, for a rousing rendition of the Beatles\u2019 \u201cHello, Goodbye.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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But for the final goodbye, there was one last surreal touch. Paying tribute to the finale of \u201cSt. Elsewhere,\u201d \u201cThe Late Show\u201d went out with an image of the theater being sucked into a snow globe. Colbert\u2019s dog, Benny, walked up, sniffed a little, and we heard Colbert\u2019s gentle voice: \u201cCome on, Benny. Let\u2019s go.\u201d And the rest, as they say, is silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more From \u2018Skidmarks On My Heart\u2019 to \u2018Steppin\u2019 Out,\u2019 we built the ultimate road trip playlist<\/a><\/p>\n

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It was wacky, cerebral, and touching. And a TV loop was closed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nStephen Colbert bids farewell to \u2018The Late Show\u2019 with help from Paul McCartney and surprise guests. 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