Colbert’s Final ‘Late Show’ Draws 6.7 Million Viewers

The audience on Thursday even eclipsed the 6.2 million viewers who tuned in for Jimmy Kimmel’s return from a suspension in September, one of the most anticipated late-night episodes in recent years.

But in a sign of how much television and late-night have changed over the years, Thursday’s viewership was nowhere close to the audiences that Jay Leno and David Letterman amassed for their final episodes several years ago. Mr. Leno’s “Tonight Show” finale drew 14.6 million viewers in February 2014, and Mr. Letterman notched 13.7 million in May 2015 for his swan song for “The Late Show.”

CBS canceled Mr. Colbert’s show last year, arguing that it was no longer profitable. Many have speculated the show was canceled for political reasons. Mr. Colbert has been a passionate critic of President Trump for years, and CBS’s parent company, Paramount, required approval from the administration to complete a merger last year with Skydance.

Mr. Colbert’s final episode ran 18 minutes past its usual stop time — it ended at 12:53 a.m. — and featured a wide array of stars, including Paul McCartney, Ryan Reynolds, Elvis Costello, Paul Rudd and Bryan Cranston, among many others. James Poniewozik, the TV critic at The New York Times, called the episode “an emotional and delightfully bizarre wake for a comedy institution.”

“The Late Show” got some extra help. Much of Mr. Colbert’s competition, including “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” ran reruns “out of respect” for the CBS host, Mr. Kimmel said this week.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/business/media/colbert-late-show-ratings-finale.html