Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Goes Out on Top as Ratings Soar

Stephen Colbert just put a bow on The Late Show after more than a decade, and he went out like a guy who knows exactly how to stick the landing: big guests, bigger emotion, and numbers to match.

The victory lap paid off

In the final month, the show basically turned into a celebration. That late-night reunion episode with Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers? It pulled 2.819 million viewers, one of the strongest nights The Late Show has had all year. No surprise: when you pack the couch with ringers and make it a goodbye tour, people show up.

He leaves still on top

Heading into the May 22, 2026 finale, Colbert finishes his run as the most-watched in total viewers for nine straight seasons, according to Nielsen. That is a clean, sustained win streak. The final week leaned into it with a friends-and-family vibe and a lot of heartfelt tributes to what he built at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

• Heavy-hitter reunion: Kimmel, Fallon, Oliver, and Meyers joined Colbert for a rare cross-network hang, one of the week’s most-watched hours.
• Surprise and nostalgia: Julia Louis-Dreyfus popped in unannounced; Jon Stewart stopped by (of course), with Steven Spielberg and David Byrne also showing up to pay their respects.
• Finale energy: The late stretch brought a noticeable ratings bump, and the momentum carried right into the last night.

The goodbye, with jokes and Beatles

The finale itself was very Colbert: heartfelt without getting maudlin, and still throwing jokes. The 62-year-old opened with an emotional thank-you to the audience and the people who make the show every night, calling the production a kind of joyful engine.

"We call it the joy machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine."

"But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn't hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears. And I can't adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other."

He kept things loose between the tributes, bringing out Ryan Reynolds, Tim Meadows, Paul Rudd, and Tig Notaro. And then the closing image: Paul McCartney leading Hello, Goodbye, with Colbert joining in, before Colbert’s family and the full crew crowded the stage. McCartney turned off the lights to the Ed Sullivan Theater on the way out. That’s a wrap shot you do not forget.