Stephen Colbert Says Goodbye to ‘Late Show’ with Star-Studded Final Episode

Stephen Colbert’s friends rallied around him for the final episode of “The Late Show” on Thursday.

Colbert began the episode by telling the audience, "We love doing this show for you, but what we really, really love is doing the show with you. Now, I'll say to you what I've said to every audience for the last 11 years, and I've meant it every time: Have a good show. Thanks for being here. And let's do it, y'all."

The show was full of cameos… including a slew of stars pretending to think they were his final guest.

When Bryan Cranston found out he wasn’t there for an interview, he jokingly told Stephen, "What the hell am I here for?” He stormed out and threw his “Late Show” hat, saying, "You can keep your stupid hat, I'm gonna go sell my ticket.”

Later, Paul Rudd teased, "Just curious when our interview starts. I have an extremely long poem I want to recite, and I don't want to run out of time.”

Colbert told him he also was not the final guest and Paul, holding some bananas, replied, "Well, I guess it's a little awkward that I brought you the traditional retirement gift.”

Tim Meadows also joined the fun, pretending to be mad he wasn’t the last guest, either. "Screw you, Colbert!” he told the late-night host.

Tig Notaro insisted she didn’t want to be the last guest, but Ryan Reynolds faked being hurt at the news he wouldn’t be interviewed, saying, “Ouchie!” 

Ryan added, "Well, you know, in that case, I'm just happy to be here, you know, pay my respects to the, one of the world's greatest entertainers on his last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater."

Colbert thanked him, but Ryan took a jab, saying, "I was talking about your keyboardist Corey Bernhard.”

Stephen had been vocal about wanting Pope Leo XIV as his final guest, but told the crowd the Pope had to “cancel” because he wasn’t happy with the hot dogs they offered.

Instead, Paul McCartney served as his final guest! The living legend gifted the comedian with a photo of the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964, which was filmed at the same theater where they sat for the interview.

As the interview wrapped up, the show suffered some technical malfunctions… that ended up being a giant wormhole backstage.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson was there to explain the science behind it, while Jon Stewart served as a mentor to help Stephen understand what was going on. Andy Cohen showed up, but was immediately sucked into the giant wormhole!

Colbert’s "Strike Force Five" buddies John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel also showed up and joked that the wormhole might be coming for their shows in the future.

Kimmel teased, “Actually, one of these holes opened at my show last year, but it went away after about three days.”

Elijah Wood even made a brief cameo during the skit when someone dropped a “Lord of the Rings” joke.

The sketch ended with another wormhole opening above the stage of “The Late Show," dramatically sucking up everything in the room.

Afterward, Stephen shared a special moment onstage with Elvis Costello and his original bandleader Jon Batiste.