Overview
- NBC said Tuesday it will run a Tonight Show repeat on May 21, joining ABC’s Monday confirmation that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will also be a rerun that night to clear the field for Stephen Colbert’s finale.
- Colbert reunited the Strike Force Five hosts — Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver — on Monday, May 11, and they announced a new video episode dropping Wednesday, May 13 to benefit World Central Kitchen.
- CBS set the series end for May 21 after canceling The Late Show in July 2025, calling it a financial decision as reports pegged annual losses near $40 million.
- Colbert and some critics have questioned the motive for the cancellation, pointing to a reported $16 million Paramount settlement with President Donald Trump and a pending Skydance merger that awaited FCC approval at the time.
- The sendoff features marquee guests — including David Letterman on May 14 — and follows a precedent Kimmel set in 2015 when he aired a rerun to direct viewers to Letterman’s last Late Show.