After more than three decades on television, The Late Show franchise is officially approaching its end. With Stephen Colbert preparing to step away from CBS, the final stretch of the long-running late-night institution has already started drawing emotional reactions from audiences and fellow hosts alike.

The final weeks of the show have carried a larger sense of significance around them, especially as viewers continue wondering how Stephen Colbert will close out one of the defining runs in modern late-night television. Recent guest appearances, including former President Barack Obama, Sally Field, and John Krasinski, have only amped the attention surrounding the show’s closing chapter.

Now, audiences finally know exactly when the curtain will fall on The Late Show.

CBS has confirmed that the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air on Thursday, May 21, officially bringing an end not only to Colbert’s tenure but to The Late Show franchise itself after more than 30 years on television.

The Late Show first debuted on CBS in August 1993 with David Letterman as host, before Stephen Colbert took over in September 2015 following the success of The Colbert Report. Since then, Colbert has become one of the most recognizable figures in late-night television, eventually leading the show to become the most-watched late-night program in the United States with an average audience of more than 2.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings data.

“It's not just the end of our show, it's the end of The Late Show on CBS,” Stephen Colbert told viewers last year after the network announced the cancellation of the franchise. The host addressed the news directly during his monologue as conversations around Paramount’s merger discussions with Skydance Media continued in the background, while Donald Trump also publicly celebrated the cancellation online shortly after the announcement.

“Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.”The late-night host followed it up with what quickly became one of the show’s most talked-about farewell-era moments, delivering a very characteristically Colbert-style punchline.

Stephen Colbert’s Final 'The Late Show': When It Airs, How To Get Tickets, and What To Know

As audiences prepare to say goodbye, attention has also shifted toward what Stephen Colbert leaves behind—and what comes next.

Stephen Colbert’s version of The Late Show became closely associated with political satire, cultural commentary, and topical monologues that helped define the structure and tone of modern late-night television. In 2025, the show earned its first Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, further cementing its influence during a highly competitive era for the format.

Despite the ending of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert has already hinted at future creative plans. Earlier this year, he revealed that he would be working on a Lord of the Rings film project alongside his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, once the CBS show concludes.

How Stephen Colbert ultimately says goodbye remains unknown. But with the franchise itself ending alongside his departure, the final episode is expected to mark more than just the conclusion of a hosting tenure, it signals the end of a television institution that has existed for over 30 years.

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What has been your favourite Stephen Colbert moment on The Late Show over the years? Let us know in the comments.