The last episode of “The Late Show” airs May 21, on CBS.

Jimmy Kimmel Live to air rerun during Stephen Colbert’s final *Late Show *broadcast

The last episode of "The Late Show" airs May 21, on CBS.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

EW's editorial guidelines

May 11, 2026 2:29 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' last year. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

- EW can confirm that *Jimmy Kimmel Live* will defer to Stephen Colbert by airing a rerun against the final broadcast of *The Late Show*.

- Kimmel did the same for David Letterman's final *Late Show *appearance, in 2015.

- The last episode of *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert* will air on May 21.

As Stephen Colbert prepares to say goodbye to *The Late Show*, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is giving him the floor.

** can confirm that *Jimmy Kimmel Live* will go dark by airing a rerun episode next Thursday during its usual slot opposite *The Late Show**.* The move will allow Colbert to say goodbye during his final episode on May 21 on CBS with only one competitor, NBC's *Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*.

*LateNighter* was the first to report the news.

This isn't the first time Kimmel has put the breaks on an episode of production in deference to his peers; the longtime late-night host made the same call when David Letterman signed off from *Late Show *in 2015. Letterman started *The* *Late Show *franchise in 1993 and hosted for 22 seasons before handing over the reins to Colbert.

Kimmel and Colbert on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' last year.

Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Kimmel opted not to air a new episode against Letterman's farewell, which he said at the time owed to his having too much respect for Letterman to pull viewers away from his sign-off.

CBS announced in July 2025 that *The Late Show *would be ending the following May. "We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire* The Late Show* franchise at that time," CBS said in a statement. "We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television."

The statement continued: "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

Stephen Colbert to reunite with Letterman, Kimmel, Oliver, Fallon, and Meyers for final 'Late Show' episodes

Stephen Colbert reacts to 'LOTR' fans upset that he's co-writing new film just because he's famous

Reports have suggested that the network was losing upwards of $40 million a year on the production. Many skeptics, however, have pointed to Skydance Media acquiring Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, as a cause, speculating that the new leadership wanted to stay out of the crosshairs of President Donald Trump. The FCC approved the merger on July 24, eight days after Colbert announced the show's cancelation on air.

When Colbert addressed the cancelation on his show, he emphasized that the move marked "not just the end of our show, but it's the end of *The Late Show *on CBS."

"I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away," he said at the time. "Let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. And it's a job that I'm looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months. It's going to be fun."

During an expansive "exit interview" published by *GQ* in November, Colbert shared that he had a "great relationship" with CBS, which was why the news of his cancelation — which was delivered to him via his manager and not the network — was so "surprising and so shocking."

"I was surprised. Listen, every show's got to end at some time. And I've been on a bunch of shows that have ended," Colbert said at the time. "And that's just the nature of show business. You can't worry about that. You got to be a big boy about that. But I think we're the first number one show to ever get canceled."

Colbert hosting 'The Late Show' in February.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS/Getty

Colbert kicks off his second-to-last week on Monday by welcoming fellow late-night hosts Fallon, Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver, a.k.a. *Strike Force Five*. During the 2023 WGA strike, Colbert and his colleagues came together for a 12-episode podcast series, with the proceeds going to their employees, who were out of work as their shows went dark.

Then, on Thursday, Colbert will be joined by Letterman, who has made headlines with his claim that Colbert was "dumped" so he couldn't make any more "trouble" for CBS. "I'm just going to go on record as saying: They're lying," Letterman declared in an interview with *The New York Times* last Tuesday. "Let me just add one other thing... They're lying weasels."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

After *The Late Show *ends, Colbert will be writing a new *Lord of the Rings* film that he and son Peter had pitched to Peter Jackson. "I did not think I would have the time. As much as I love it, I knew I couldn't do that and do this show at the same time, but it turns out I'm going to be free starting this summer," Colbert quipped in March.

The last episode of *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert *airs Thursday, May 21, on CBS. Starting May 22,* **Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen** *will take over Colbert's 11:35 p.m. ET/PT slot.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Talk”