After 11 seasons, Stephen Colbert will host CBS’ “The Late Show” for the last time on Thursday.
NEW YORK — Ahead of Stephen Colbert’s final episode of “The Late Show,” celebrities and politicians took to social media to congratulate his work on late night for the past 11 years.
CBS announced last summer that Colbert’s show would end, citing economic reasons. What is planned for the finale wasn’t revealed ahead of time. Colbert’s chief rivals, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” will both run reruns on Thursday night at the same time as Colbert’s goodbye.
Reactions and congratulations came in from Democratic politicians including former President Joe Biden, former U.S. senator and first lady Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Biden said, “There aren’t many who can make people think and laugh at the same time. For years, Stephen brought wit, heart, and honesty to late night television. America could always count on a laugh — and sometimes a needed reality check. Congrats on an incredible run, my friend.”
Fallon posted to Instagram with artwork by Baret Boisson with a quote from the movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”: “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo … and it’s worth fighting for.” Colbert is famously a super-fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and will co-write a new “Lord of the Rings” movie.
Kimmel posted a photo of himself and Colbert on the “Late Show” set and said, “Tonight we congratulate our friend Stephen @Colbert and his writers, staff and crew for eleven years of excellence. Watch Colbert’s finale tonight, and then never watch CBS again.”
Comedian and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart posted simply: “My brother.”
The comedy theater troupe Second City looked back at Colbert’s time working their box office in 1987.
Actor Mark Hamill said, “Can’t thank Stephen Colbert enough for the decades of laughs he’s given us. He’s been positively therapeutic in these troubled times & I can’t wait to see what he does next!”