The TV hosts’ decision shows support for Colbert ahead of his last episode on May 21.
Stephen Colbert’s late-night comrades are clearing the way for his goodbye.
On Tuesday, People reported that “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” will skip a new episode on May 21 — the same night “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs its finale. Instead, Fallon’s show will air a rerun in solidarity.
The move follows news that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will also forgo a new episode that night, opting for a repeat in honor of Colbert’s final farewell on late-night television.
Kimmel made the same gesture back in 2015, when he chose not to air a new episode as Colbert’s predecessor on “The Late Show,” David Letterman, retired from the CBS program. Letterman is also scheduled to appear as a guest on Colbert’s show this coming Thursday.
Since CBS unexpectedly canceled Colbert’s program last summer, Kimmel, Fallon, plus fellow late-night hosts Seth Meyers and John Oliver have fiercely rallied behind him.
The group — who teamed up for the “Strike Force Five” podcast during the 2023 Hollywood strikes — reunited on Colbert’s show on Monday to tease a special “emergency” episode, set to be released on Wednesday, May 13.
The final episode of “The Late Show” is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, at 11:35 p.m. ET. Moving forward, the late-night slot will be replaced by Byron Allen’s comedy show, “Comics Unleashed.”
Editor’s note: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced Monday evening that Allen Family Digital, led by Byron Allen, is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed, HuffPost’s parent company.
