The Ed Sullivan Theater is dark tonight and for the foreseeable future, but two queer celebrities helped host Stephen Colbert put his canceled CBS late-night show to bed, once and for all, Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
Bravo's Andy Cohen appeared in a blink-and-you'll miss-it skit involving a black hole that swiftly sucked him away, and eventually swallowed the entire 13-story building that houses the historic Ed Sullivan Theater.
The audience for the last episode of "The Late Show" was packed with other stars seated among the fans, including actors Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows, as well as Ryan Reynolds, who appeared in a bit that gave off some homophobic vibes.
Cranston interrupted Colbert's final monologue to ask if he had any surprise celebrity cameos lined up. “No, Bryan," the host told Cranston. "Those always feel kinda forced."
Later, Colbert was delivering his staple of silly "Meanwhile" headlines from his desk on stage when he paused to recognize another celebrity a few rows back.
"Hey, I just noticed another old friend in the audience," Colbert said. "It's Tig Notaro."
Notaro replied, "Hey Stephen," and Colbert tried to gently deliver the bad news that she hadn't been chosen to be his final interviewee. "Let me guess: You also think you're gonna be my guest tonight."
"No," she responded. "I just like to be at historic events. I was at the Obama inauguration, the moon landing, and," adding a pause, "whatever this is."
"Tig." Colbert corrected her firmly. "You weren't at the moon landing."
"I said what I said," replied Notaro.
"The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert and guest Tig Notaro during Thursday’s May 21, 2026 show. Photo: Scott Kowalchyk ©2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.out.com
Colbert thanked the out lesbian actor and standup comic, apparently ready to move on, but her deadpan number wasn't yet done.
"It's nice of you to be here to support me for my last show," said Colbert in a soft, sincere voice. The next bit was Notaro at her deadpan best.
"This is your last show?" Notaro said with feigned surprise.
"Yeah," said Colbert in surprise. "How did you not know that?"
"I have a very full life, Stephen," said Notaro.
- YouTube youtu.be
"Well, here's the deal. It's our last show because we were canceled, and I don't really want to talk about it right now," Colbert told Notaro, and that's when actor Ryan Reynolds of the Deadpool movies took his turn to interrupt the host.
Reynolds, however, launched into an awkward moment that was apparently written and staged to make him appear to be a gay stalker of a member of Colbert's Late Show band.
"I'm just happy to be here, you know, pay my respects to one of the world's greatest entertainers on his last night at the Ed Sullivan Theater," Reynolds told Colbert, holding a bunch of bananas. More about that in a moment.
"Wow, well, thank you," Colbert told Reynolds. "Thank you so much, Ryan. That means so much to me."
That's when Reynolds got up from his front row seat and made a beeline for the stage, but not toward Colbert. He ran over to Great Big Joy Machine keyboardist Corey Bernhardt handed him the bananas, then hugged him, a little too strongly.
"Please stop DMing me," Bernhardt told Reynolds as he pulled the actor's caressing hands off his neck and recoiled from his embrace.
"Never," said Reynolds under his breath, to laughter.
Earlier, actor Paul Rudd tried to present bananas to Colbert, calling them "the traditional retirement gift" of six bananas.
When Colbert declined, reminding Rudd that a traditional retirement gift is a gold watch. So, Rudd asked Colbert what he was supposed to do with five bananas.
"I thought just a moment ago you said it was six?" said Colbert.
"I got hungry!" yelled Rudd.
The Late Show concluded with a rousing Beatles number, "Hello, Goodbye," performed by Sir Paul McCartney himself — Colbert's final guest — who was accompanied by Elvis Costello, bandleader Louis Cato, former bandleader John Batiste, and Colbert.
At the end, Colbert had one last skit, in which he invited McCartney to turn off the power to the building, which was then entirely enveloped by the phenomenon that had previously swallowed Cohen and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Then, in a truly deep cut, the entire structure transformed into a tiny snowglobe, an apparent nod to the 1988 finale of the NBC hospital drama St. Elsewhere.
