{"id":2271,"date":"2026-05-23T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/05\/23\/stephen-colberts-best-late-show-moments\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T22:44:00","slug":"stephen-colberts-best-late-show-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/05\/23\/stephen-colberts-best-late-show-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert\u2019s Best \u2018Late Show\u2019 Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\tStephen Colbert\u2019s final episode as host of The Late Show<\/em><\/a> brought an end to the long-running CBS late night franchise and placed a cap on 11 years of comedic takes on current events.<\/p>\n

\tWhile Colbert famously struggled in his first few months after taking over the series from David Letterman, he hit his stride<\/a> around the time of the 2016 political conventions and later provided sharp comedic commentary on the first Trump administration with the show soaring <\/strong>to become the most watched show in late-night TV starting in 2017.<\/p>\n

\tBut Colbert didn\u2019t delight in his success amid that political climate.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI would trade good ratings for a better president,\u201d Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> in 2017<\/a>. \u201cWe were ready for something that galvanized people\u2019s attention and changed their priorities. The thank-you note is to my staff for being ready \u2014 that\u2019s the thank-you note. Because if it\u2019s not Donald Trump, it\u2019s something else. There will be something else that we care about, hopefully happy, possibly tragic. But we\u2019re ready to talk about what just happened, whenever it happens now. And that\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe guided viewers through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting alongside his audience to working from home, and shared raw, emotional reactions to President Trump challenging the results of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, going live at the end of the historic day in 2021.<\/p>\n

\tThrough it all, Colbert sat down for memorable interviews with such figures as Christopher Nolan, Keanu Reeves, Barack and Michelle Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2015 just as his Late Show<\/em> was getting started.<\/p>\n

\tLooking back at his Late Show <\/em>legacy, Colbert recently told THR<\/em> in an exit interview cover story<\/a>, \u201cI want to be remembered as a comedy show. We harvest laughter for a living, and ultimately that\u2019s the thing I want more than anything else. I just want to make the audience laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAnd he\u2019s continued to minimize his political impact from his decades in late night, first with The Daily Show<\/em>, then The Colbert Report<\/em> and now The Late Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019re not changing the damn world,\u201d he said. \u201cHave you seen the world? I promise you, if you think that I\u2019m on some kind of agenda, then I\u2019m really shitty at it because nothing has gone in the direction that I had hoped. I mean, nothing<\/em> for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn honor of Colbert\u2019s final bow, take a look back at the most memorable moments from his Late Show<\/em> tenure, presented in chronological order.<\/p>\n