David Letterman Makes Surprise Late Show Comeback, Calls Out Stephen Colbert Cancellation

David Letterman popped back into the theater he rebuilt and the show he launched, then proceeded to roast, reminisce, and literally throw furniture off a roof. So yeah, a very Letterman goodbye.

Letterman comes home, does Letterman things

On Thursday, May 14, 2026, the 79-year-old Late Show founder returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater to sit with current host Stephen Colbert, 62, and take one last lap around the place. He reminded the crowd, in his wonderfully salty way, that none of this exists without him. He also looked around Colbert's glow-up of the set and cracked that the theater now plays like the Bellagio. Translation: fancy.

He took a playful swipe at late-night neighbors too, wondering aloud if the Jimmys — Fallon and Kimmel — were going to be OK when Colbert signs off.

Then they went to the roof and started chucking stuff

Because of course they did. To mark the end of Colbert's run and the show's final week, Letterman and Colbert headed up top for some 'wanton destruction of CBS property.' They hurled Colbert's desk chair and the blue guest chairs off the building like it was the world's classiest yard sale. CBS even sent a cake that read 'The Late Show 1993-2026,' which also made the trip down to the street.

So... why is The Late Show ending?

CBS announced back in July 2025 that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert would wrap in May 2026, and when it does, the network is retiring the entire Late Show franchise. Their official line: this is a money decision, not a performance or content issue, and not about any other drama at their parent company.

That parent company, Paramount, was acquired by Skydance Media in August 2025. Letterman, speaking to the New York Times earlier this month, called out that timing and flatly rejected the 'purely financial' explanation, arguing the show was folded into the Skydance sale calculus. He did not tiptoe around it:

'They are lying weasels.'

CBS, for its part, told the Times the cancellation was 'unequivocally a financial decision.' So you have the network's official stance on one side and a founding host calling foul on the other. Neat and tidy it is not.

Key dates, without the mental math

• 1993: David Letterman launches The Late Show from the Ed Sullivan Theater and oversees its rebuild.
• 2015: Letterman retires; Stephen Colbert takes over as host.
• July 2025: CBS says The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026; calls Colbert 'irreplaceable' and plans to retire the franchise.
• August 2025: Skydance Media acquires Paramount, CBS's parent company.
• May 14, 2026: Letterman returns to Colbert's Late Show, riffs on the past, needles the 'Jimmys,' and joins Colbert in tossing chairs (and a '1993-2026' cake) off the roof.
• May 21, 2026 (Thursday): Colbert's final Late Show episode is scheduled to air.

The vibe

It was sentimental, a little prickly, and very funny — the exact mix you expect when the guy who built the house drops by to say goodbye and maybe loosen a few shingles on the way out.