Stephen Colbert’s long goodbye is coming to an end, leaving a void

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert on the set of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in New York on May 6, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via AP)2026-05-20T11:20:52Z NEW YORK (AP) — On his very first time hosting “The Late Show” back in 2015, Stephen Colbert ripped into Donald Trump while gorging on Oreos, likening his inability to resist the cookies to his inability to resist going after the then-presidential candidate.“Look, you don’t own me. I don’t need to play tape of you to have a successful TV show,” he warned an image of Trump. “Someone on television should have a modicum of dignity and it could be me.”Over the next 11 years, Colbert couldn’t curb his appetite for making Trump barbs, often turning his show into a full-throated rebuke of MAGA policies. Trump would call him a “dead man walking.” The on-air feud between the two men seemingly ends Thursday as Colbert’s top-rated late-night TV program goes off the air for the final time, effectively silencing a high-profile White House critic.“The legacy of this show needs to be that we remember it as the show that was canceled because a presidential administration wanted it off the air,” says Heather Hendershot, a professor of communication studies and journalism at Northwestern University. “We haven’t connected every single dot on that, but it’s very clear that this was a political decision. And I think 20, 30, 40 years later, that is going to be strongly remembered about this show — that this was a moment of authoritarian triumph.” As Stephen Colbert prepares to say goodbye to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Thursday night, former guests and famous colleagues reflect on the impact he has made. (May 20) When comedy and politics collideWhen CBS announced last summer that Colbert’s show would end in May, the network said it was for economic reasons but others — including Colbert — have expressed skepticism that Trump’s repeated criticism of the show had nothing to do with it.The cancellation came after CBS parent company Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview, as Paramount’s sale to Skydance Media awaited the Trump administration’s approval. Colbert had called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”Trump rejoiced over the cancellation in a Truth Social post, writing “I absolutely love” that the host “got fired.” He followed it with: “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” Just two months later, ABC, buckling to pressure from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair and affiliate networks, temporarily suspended Kimmel — the host of its own late-night show — following his remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Read More TV experts said there are not many other examples of a hit show being shuttered due to political pressure. In 1969, CBS abruptly canceled “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which had aired comedy bits in opposition of the Vietnam War and in support of civil rights.Colbert, a “Daily Show” alum, spent nine years playing a buffoonish, conservative commentator on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” He was not universally welcomed to “The Late Show” by those he had lampooned, with Rush Limbaugh saying “CBS has just declared war on the heartland of America.” This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, left, with guest Tom Hanks on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in New York on May 13, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via AP) This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert, left, with guest Tom Hanks on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in New York on May 13, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via AP) –> Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. –> Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Through Democratic and Republican administrations, Colbert and other late-night comedians have offered their take on the day’s events that offered something different from traditional news media.“In given moments, like when something big happened, you really do want that perspective that says, ‘Here’s another way to look at it,’” says Dustin Kidd, a professor of sociology at Temple University. “Or when it feels really overwhelming, you want that reminder that there’s still some way to laugh at it. And so the more you lose those ways to laugh at it, the more we all decline.” Colbert put his own spin on late night“The Late Show” had celebrities, musical guests and jokes about Arby’s and Spirit Airlines, like other late-night shows. But Colbert put his own spin on things, like wearing his Catholic faith and his adoration of his wife and frequent guest, Evie McGee Colbert, on his sleeve.After the monologue, he had oddball segments like “Meanwhile,” a look at global affairs in “What’s Going On Over There?,” technology with “Cyborgasm” and youth slang in “Stephen Colbert Presents: That’s Yeet. Dabbing on Fle

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert on the set of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in New York on May 6, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via AP)2026-05-20T11:20:52Z NEW YORK (AP) — On his very first time hosting “The Late Show” back in 2015, Stephen Colbert ripped into Donald Trump while gorging on…

This image released by CBS shows host Stephen Colbert on the set of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in New York on May 6, 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via AP)2026-05-20T11:20:52Z NEW YORK (AP) — On his very first time hosting “The Late Show” back in 2015, Stephen Colbert ripped into Donald Trump while gorging on Oreos, likening his inability to resist the cookies to his inability to resist going after the then-presidential candidate.“Look, you don’t own me. I don’t need to play tape of you…