5 Secrets of the 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' Set

"A mix of television broadcasts and a brief return to live theater occupied the space until 1993, when CBS bought the landmarked structure for their new talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman. Colbert took over the desk in 2015, and in July 2025, CBS announced that The Late Show would end on May 21, 2026, after 33 years."

The Ed Sullivan Theater was completed in 1927 in Gothic style by architect Herbert J. Krapp and originally operated as Hammerstein’s Theater. It functioned as a Broadway playhouse until 1934, when it became a casino and then a music hall. In 1936, CBS leased the building for radio use, and in 1949 CBS converted it into a television studio. The venue became home to The Ed Sullivan Show, later renamed CBS Studio 50, and was rechristened the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1967. The variety show ran until 1971, followed by television broadcasts and a brief return to live theater. In 1993 CBS bought the landmark for The Late Show with David Letterman, and the show later continued under Stephen Colbert until its planned end in 2026.

Read at Architectural Digest