David Letterman made his final appearance on The Late Show to bid his hosting successor, Stephen Colbert, and the beloved franchise a farewell.
At the end of Thursday’s episode, Letterman, 79 — who originated CBS’s long-running late night talk show in 1993 before handing over the reins in 2015 — thanked Colbert for “everything you’ve done for the country.”
Asked if he had any parting words to share with the audience, Letterman said: “Well, not necessarily to the audience, but to the folks at CBS — in the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck, motherf***ers!”
The last-ever episode of The Late Show will air next Thursday, May 21, nearly a year after the network announced it was axing the franchise altogether, citing a “financial decision.” The sudden cancellation came days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company, Paramount, for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over accusations that its newsmagazine series 60 Minutes deceptively edited a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Still, upper management maintained the show’s end was not related in any way to “its performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Elsewhere during his final appearance, Letterman reminisced about the show’s legacy. “I have every right to be pissed off, so I’ll be pissed off here a little bit,” he said. “You folks wouldn’t be at this theater if it weren’t for me, and Stephen wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. We built this theater and then Stephen came in here and, look at this, it’s like the Bellagio.
“But, as we all understand, you can take a man’s show, you can’t take a man’s voice, so that’s the good news.”
He further expressed his fears about the future of late night. “What I’m really worried about is what will become of the Jimmys. Are they going to be all right?” Letterman asked, referring to late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.
Colbert humorously reassured him that his colleagues would be OK. “We’ve got a plan to put them in a captive breeding program,” he quipped.
Letterman continued complimenting Colbert’s transformation of the venue. “All of this is fantastic. This is not just hotel stuff. This is beautiful,” he said, looking around at the furniture.
Confirming with Colbert that it was all property of CBS, Letterman put his hand on the arm of his chair, joking: “This is nice. It’d be a shame if something happened to this.”
He looked off-stage, calling out a few of the show’s crew members to come pick up the two guest chairs as well as Colbert’s seat. The two then took a seat among the audience before heading to the roof to toss a cake and various objects to the ground in celebration.
“Well, Dave, thanks so much for creating The Late Show 33 years ago,” Colbert said, shaking Letterman’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure having you back to destroy some stuff.”
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