Stephen Colbert's 'The Late Show' ends after 11 seasons with surprises from Paul McCartney and others

The final broadcast of CBS’s The Late Show featured a bittersweet farewell with humor and music. Colbert opened by thanking the audience and his team for creating more than 1,800 episodes over 11 years. He staged a surreal bit involving a fake Pope Leo XIV who refused to appear due to snack issues, prompting Paul McCartney to step in as the replacement guest. McCartney offered a framed Beatles photo tied to the Ed Sullivan Theater and discussed early Beatles visits to America, creativity, and personal topics including new music and childhood. The show also included celebrity interruptions, comedic reactions from multiple guests, and additional performances with Elvis Costello and the band.

"At the top of his last show, which grew more surreal and absurd as it went on, Colbert highlighted the "joy" that he and his team felt creating more than 1,800 episodes of "The Late Show." "The energy that you've given us, we sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you for the last 11 years," Colbert said. "You've given it to us. We've given it all right back to you.""

"Colbert pretended that Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, was his final guest, but the pontiff refused to come out of his dressing room because he hadn't been supplied the correct kind of snacks, especially hot dogs. McCartney then offered himself as a replacement, striding across the stage as the audience screamed. "I think you'd be a perfect last guest," Colbert said."

"McCartney said he happened to be in the area, doing errands. He offered a framed photo of the Beatles at the Ed Sullivan Theater, the final home for "The Late Show." The two chatted about when the Beatles first came to America in 1964, creativity, his new album and McCartney's childhood. Final broadcast is filled with surprises"

"Colbert's monologue was interrupted by Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd and Tim Meadows, who all pretended to be irked that they weren't the host's final guest. "You know what? You got what you deserved," Meadows fumed. Other celebrities in the audience who had funny turns during Colbert's last "Meanwhile" segment were Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds."

Read at Fast Company