Stephen Colbert to host 'Fired and Festive' after-party following his 'Late Show' finale

Stephen Colbert's final night at the Ed Sullivan Theater will not end when the cameras stop rolling. Sources confirm that following the taping of his last episode, Colbert will host an after-party at a nearby event space.

The invitation

The party invitation features the show's familiar red, white and blue logo, tweaked to read "The LAST SHOW with Stephen Colbert," followed by "that's a WRAP! (PARTY)." The dress code, in characteristic Colbert fashion, instructs guests to arrive "Fired & Festive."

The finale

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will tape its final episode on 21 May, with the broadcast airing later the same night on CBS. Guests for the series finale have not yet been announced, though sources indicate that many celebrities beyond those invited to the show itself have received invitations to the after-party.

How the cancellation unfolded

CBS announced in July that it was ending the programme after 11 seasons, describing the decision as purely financial. Colbert did not accept the news quietly.

Following the cancellation announcement, he addressed both CBS and President Donald Trump — who had celebrated the show's axing on Truth Social — directly on camera. "Go fuck yourself," Colbert said to the President during his opening monologue on 21 July.

"Folks, I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Cancel culture has gone too far. Over the weekend, it sunk in that they're killing off our show. But they made one mistake: They left me alive. And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump, starting right now."

Late night solidarity

In a show of support, both Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have announced that their respective programmes will go dark on Thursday evening in tribute to Colbert, with ABC and NBC airing reruns in place of new episodes.

What comes next

Following the conclusion of The Late Show, Colbert has a significant project in the pipeline. He is set to co-write a Lord of the Rings film — a project he had already pitched to director Peter Jackson before the show's cancellation was announced, as Peter Jackson recently confirmed to Variety.