With The Late Show down to its final episodes, Stephen Colbert had a parting message Tuesday night for his guest Jon Stewart: good luck being the last one standing.
Stewart, Colbert noted, is about to become “the only person in the corporation left in late night,” with The Daily Show still airing on Paramount-owned Comedy Central after The Late Show signs off Thursday.
“Good luck,” Colbert told his longtime friend and former boss. “You’re going to be the only one in late night for the CBS-Paramount Skydance corporation. And I am happy for you.”
Stewart buried his face in his hands before finding the upside.
“The only saving grace,” he said, “is that I don’t think Trump has cable.”
The moment came during a final sit-down interview between the two men—one that ran long enough to merit an “extended cut” on YouTube. Stewart last appeared on The Late Show in April, when he and Colbert co-hosted a “Late Show Home Shopping” segment.
This time, the jokes gave way to something more heartfelt, as Stewart praised Colbert and looked ahead to whatever his friend does next.
“Let me tell you something, and I truly mean this: What upsets me about this situation is that first of all you’re just a tremendous human, and one of my favorite people,” Stewart told Colbert.
He then gestured to Colbert’s long career, from the mid-1990s sketch series Exit 57 onward.
“He can do whatever he wants to do,” Stewart told the audience. “But the ubiquitous bloviating of the commander-in-chief has put us all as defined as who we are in opposition to him. And it’s just a ridiculous framing.”
Then Stewart let himself imagine what might come after.
“The day… oh people, close your eyes and dream… the day that the electorate in this great nation we call home repudiates this putrid administration,” he said. “My brother, my brother, there will be… a joyful noise from the bowels of this country that will make Hungary’s repudiation of [Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán look like an Amish sabbath.”
Stewart’s ties to Colbert’s Late Show go back to the beginning. He is one of the program’s executive producers and appeared in its September 2015 premiere as an umpire declaring “Play ball!” at the end of the show’s “Star-Spangled Banner”-themed opening montage.
Over the years, Stewart returned for live political specials, the post-Super Bowl episode in February 2024, desk-pop-up cameos, and, in November 2018, a role-reversal interview in which Stewart questioned Colbert from the guest chair.
The Late Show now has just two episodes left. Wednesday’s show will feature Colbert taking “The Colbert Questionert” with help from special guests, plus a performance by Bruce Springsteen. Plans for Thursday’s series finale remain under wraps.
Watch Colbert’s extended Tuesday night interview with Jon Stewart at the top of this post.
