The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during a performance on Thursday, July 25, 2019.
CBS Photo Archive | CBS | Getty Images
Stephen Colbert’s final appearance on “The Late Show” on Thursday ended his 11-year run on the classic late-night TV slot. But the next day, he found his way back to television, with the Michigan Department of Public Access.
Colbert was a surprise guest host on Monroe Community Media’s “Only in Monroe” Friday night. The station serves Monroe, Michigan, a town south of Detroit near the Ohio border, and the surrounding county of the same name.
At 11:35 p.m. local time, viewers of the channel saw Colbert appear on screen.
“I am grateful to have been able to join Monroe Community Media before it was acquired because 23 hours without television was excruciating.” paramount” he said at the beginning of the broadcast.
Colbert’s announcement to end his show in July was not without controversy. Some observers speculated that the aim was to gain support from President Donald Trump’s administration as the company sought regulatory approval to merge with Skydance. Colbert often made fun of Trump on his show.
Regulators approved the Paramount-Skydance merger later that month.
Paramount said at the time that there were no other reasons for its decision to discontinue Colbert than for economic reasons, with late night struggling to adapt to changing media consumption habits due to the rise of streaming.
People wait in line outside the Ed Sullivan Theater before the taping of the final episode of “The Late Show,” which aired after 32 years in New York City on May 21, 2026.
Charlie Tribalew | AFP | Getty Images
This is the point Colbert joked to the Michigan audience.
“Viewers outside of the greater Monroe area can watch Monroe Community Media thanks to a mechanism known as streaming, which I promised not to learn while I was at CBS,” he joked. “And obviously CBS decided not to learn about it either.”
Colbert’s Friday night appearance on “Only in Monroe” wasn’t his first time. He began the show by reminding viewers that he was a guest host in July 2015.
Guests on Colbert’s show included musician Jack White and actor Jeff Daniels. They both grew up in Michigan. Actor Steve Buscemi also appeared in a commercial for a pizza restaurant that shares his last name.
Colbert even FaceTimed Byron Allen during the show. Byron Allen is expected to get a time slot at CBS.
Colbert gave no indication of what he would do next after he finished guest hosting, but instead asked to be invited to appear on local shows in the future.
“Thank you for letting me host your show every 11 years,” he said. To the two co-hosts of the program. “Everyone, see you again in 2037.”
