Stephen Colbert returns to community show after final ‘Late Show’ appearance

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Hours after his final appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Stephen Colbert guest hosted a local community TV show in Michigan called “Only in Monroe.”

“It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV,” Colbert joked on the show, aired Friday. “So I am grateful to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount.”

The local Michigan show was hosted by Monroe Community Media, a nonprofit organization that provides media education and services to Monroe County – which is located in Southeast Michigan.

Colbert’s appearance on “Only in Monroe” comes just over ten years after he first appeared on the show in 2015, right before he took over as host of “The Late Show” from David Letterman. Colbert has previously said he considers that 2015 show his “first show.”

CBS announced last year it was canceling “The Late Show,” citing financial pressures and falling ad revenue.

After the news broke, there were reports it could have been tied to Colbert’s frequent criticisms of Republicans and President Donald Trump. Trump himself addressed the show ending in a social media post on Friday.

“Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person,” the president posted on Truth Social. “You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”

Colbert seemed to recognize the significance of his appearance on “Only in Monroe,” going so far as to symbolically destroy and burn its set in a trash dumpster at the end of the program.

“Thank you for letting me host your show every eleven years,” Colbert joked. “Well, that’s a wrap. Thanks for watching ‘Only on Monroe,’ and if you’ve watched any of my other talk shows over the years, thanks for watching those too. ‘Til we see each other again, I’ll be only here, only on ‘Only in Monroe.'”