Stephen Colbert'slate-night pals are making sure his grand farewell gets as many eyes as possible.
John Oliverended the latest episode of "Last Week Tonight" on May 17 with a plug not for his own show, but for Colbert's. As the credits rolled, Oliver shared his love for the outgoing "Late Show" host and urged viewers to watch his last four episodes this week.
"That's our show. Thank you so much for watching," Oliver said. "We're off next week, back on May 31st. Please enjoy Colbert's final shows. He's the f------ best."
All of the major late-night hosts have been rallying around Colbert as he gets ready to sign off "The Late Show," which CBScontroversially canceledlast year. The show's final episode will air Thursday, May 21.
Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, whose shows air at the same time as Colbert's on NBC and ABC, respectively, both previously announced theywould broadcast rerunson May 21 so as not to take the spotlight away from the "Late Show" finale. While announcing the scheduling change, NBC described this as a "sign of late-night solidarity."
Colbert replacementByron Allen reveals what 'Late Show' host texted him
Oliver, Fallon, Kimmel and NBC'sSeth Meyers all sat down with Colberton May 11 to salute him on a great run and bemoan the end of "The Late Show." The comedians previously hostedthe "Strike Force Five" podcasttogether in 2023 while their shows were shut down during the writers' strike.
Advertisement
During the interview, Kimmel said it's "such a tragedy" that "The Late Show" was canceled, while Fallon said it's "odd the way it ended for you" and a "bummer because I wanted to do this longer with you." But Oliver, in the spirit of his HBO show, offered a blunter reaction.
"You're talking in network television [terms]," Oliver said to Kimmel and Fallon. "'It's odd. It's a surprise.' As someone from a different area of television, I can say, it was some fresh [expletive]."
Oliver previously spoke out about the end of "The Late Show"when the news first broke in July, telling The Associated Press, "It's very sad. Obviously, I love Stephen, I love his staff, I love that show. It's incredibly sad. I am partly excited to see what they're going to do for the next 10 months, but yeah, it's terrible, terrible news for the world of comedy."
Stephen Colbertreveals his final guests on 'The Late Show'
Colbert'slast week of shows will includeappearances byJon Stewart,Steven Spielberg,David ByrneandBruce Springsteen. On May 20, he'll also take his own "Colbert Questionert," a series of mostly lighthearted questions he has asked celebrities over the years, and according to CBS' schedule, the segment will feature "special guests."
No guests have been announced for the final episode of "The Late Show," though if the star-studded finale of Colbert's Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" is anything to go by, fans should expect some surprise, A-list cameos.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:John Oliver shows support for Stephen Colbert 'Late Show' finale
