CBS says the final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert attracted an audience of 6.74 million viewers, making it the most-watched weeknight episode during the show’s 11 year run.
In general, the series attracted an average audience of 2.7 million throughout its final season on air.
The most-watched episode of the show’s entire run came on February 7, 2016, when a special episode followed that year’s Super Bowl and was watched by 20.55 million viewers.
When Colbert took over The Late Show franchise on September 8, 2015 his first episode averaged 6.55 million viewers. That was down from the 13.76 million who tuned in for his predecessor David Letterman’s last show in May 2015, but up from the average audience of 2.8 million who watched Letterman’s final season from 2014 to 2015.
Colbert’s final guest was Paul McCartney, who ceremonially turned out the lights at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the Beatles famously performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
CBS announced the cancellation of the long-running Late Show franchise last July, just days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over accusations that its newsmagazine series 60 Minutes deceptively edited a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The last moments of Colbert’s final broadcast included a performance of The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” led by McCartney. Colbert, who was singing along at a microphone, was joined onstage by his family and what appeared to be staffers on the long-running CBS show.
As the song continued in the background, Colbert and McCartney were then seen standing backstage beside an electrical box and lever labeled “Late Show.” After Colbert gave McCartney the nod, the Beatles singer pulled the lever — effectively pulling the plug on the power to historic Ed Sullivan Theater that housed the late night show, in a seeming jab at CBS canceling the series.
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The broadcast also included more direct jabs at CBS. After addressing the news that the owner of the music used in the Peanuts animated television specials has filed lawsuits against several defendants, including the Trump administration, alleging that it illegally used the tunes in social media posts and a game, Colbert said: “Anyone illegally using that music is gonna have to pay through the nose.”
But he was then cut off by his band playing the very Peanuts tune he had been discussing.
Colbert then quipped: “Oh no! I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!”