Stephen Colbert’s new gig revealed just weeks after 'The Late Show' cancellation
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Stephen Colbert isn’t walking off into the sunset just yet. Just weeks after he announced that 'The Late Show' would be signing off for good in 2026, the 61-year-old comedian has already lined up his next move.
According to Vulture, Colbert is joining the cast of CBS’s offbeat detective dramedy 'Elsbeth' as a guest star. He’ll reportedly be playing a fictional late-night host named Scotty Bristol. Meanwhile, his in-show program is a cheeky little nod to the real thing called “Way Late with Scotty Bristol."
How Stephen Colbert's new gig came to be
The gig marks a fitting next chapter for Stephen Colbert, who’s been a mainstay of CBS’s late-night lineup for nearly a decade. Filming for the 'Elsbeth' episode reportedly kicked off last week in New York City — and sources told Vulture the cameo was “almost surely planned” before the plug was pulled on 'The Late Show'.
Colbert’s foray into the 'Elsbeth' universe apparently started as a joke. Back in February, 'Elsbeth' star Wendell Pierce showed up on 'The Late Show', where Colbert quipped that he had a weird little dream “to be a corpse on one of these shows.”
Pierce didn’t miss a beat. “I can make that happen. I know a guy who knows a guy. We can get you on," he said at the time.
Turns out, Pierce wasn’t bluffing. The producers ran with it, and now Colbert’s playing a proper character rather than a chalk-outline cameo. The role of Scotty Bristol is believed to have been written specifically for him.
The team appears to have stuck to the plan even after CBS gave 'The Late Show' the axe.
Stephen Colbert announces 'The Late Show' will end in May 2026
Stephen Colbert didn’t shy away from the elephant in the Ed Sullivan Theater. At his July 17 taping, he told the crowd exactly what was going down.
“Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night: Next year will be our last season,” he said to boos from the audience. “Yeah, I share your feelings,” he continued. “It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
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Colbert wanted to clarify that the finale isn’t just about wrapping up his run, but a curtain call for the entire format.
“We get to do this show for each other, every day, all day,” he added. “And I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. And it’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months. It’s going to be fun.”
CBS has chalked the cancellation up to “a financial decision,” citing the ongoing collapse of linear TV viewership. But the announcement landed shortly after Colbert torched Paramount Global — CBS’s parent company — for forking over $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump. The president had sued over former Vice President Kamala Harris’s '60 Minutes' interview.
CBS, however, insists Colbert’s Trump takedown had nothing to do with the cancellation. Meanwhile, Colbert isn’t holding back. He’s joked on-air that CBS made a big mistake by leaving him “alive,” and later declared, “The gloves are off.”
'Elsbeth', which debuted last summer, is a spin-off of 'The Good Wife' and features Carrie Preston reprising her role as quirky legal savant Elsbeth Tascioni. The show’s already boasted a star-studded guest list, including Nathan Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, and Retta.
