Stephen Colbert gave us a wonderful gift last night: he is not done!
Maybe the emotion of the night made it easy to miss, but he made it clear: this was an ending, not the ending. Maybe this was super obvious, and I am just an idiot, but I had to share this reminder somewhere: Stephen Colbert is not done.
Last night was not a funeral, it was not retirement — it was simply a goodbye to the Ed Sullivan Theater and to 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
The final episode of The Late Show was a masterclass in grace and hope. There was no direct mention of the orange dictator. No lengthy bitter monologue calling out Skydance. There was no somber final speech at the desk reflecting on his career before tossing to a closing song.
Instead, he chose JOY! He chose to celebrate his family, his friends, his colleagues — and he made sure to ENTERTAIN! And entertain not just the studio audience but the home audience as well. The VFX elements and wormhole-to-snow-globe storytelling were a nice touch, and it made us viewers at home feel just as important as the VIPs who got to cram into the theater one last time.
I love that there was no “best of” montage. Perhaps it’s because the producers are smart enough to realize the best moments will live forever on the internet. But I like to believe it’s because the best is yet to come. It’s simply way too soon for Stephen’s “best of.”
Because of this, he did not make the finale a shrine to himself or The Late Show franchise. He even alluded to it by noting, yes, this is his last show but with the important caveat “in the Ed Sullivan Theater.”
Stephen, write your movie and do what you love. I cannot wait to see what’s next! We’ll be waiting!