Stephen Colbert kicked off his final week of The Late Show by showcasing graphics that never made it to air, including a joke about Hillary Clinton winning the 2016 election. During Monday's episode, Colbert brought out head of arts department Andro Buneta for a segment called 'Graphics Graveyard,' named after the team's group chat.
'Every day at The Late Show, our graphics team churns out hundreds of premium visuals projected onto your TV screens,' Colbert said, 'and every single day I throw about half of them in the garbage.' One graphic prepared for Clinton becoming the 45th president was shown, prompting groans from the audience. Colbert quipped: 'Oh, grow up! It all worked out fine.'
Other unaired graphics included a spoof Martha Stewart Living cover titled 'Donner or Dinner Party' and a parody porn magazine Gibblets featuring a turkey in a bra. Buneta explained that cut graphics were printed and displayed on a wall before the team moved to Slack.
CBS's Late Show franchise ends Thursday, after the network announced its cancellation last July. The decision came days after Colbert criticised parent company Paramount for settling a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris. Colbert told The New York Times he was caught off guard, noting CBS had encouraged him to sign a five-year contract in 2023.
'I do not dispute their rationale. I do make jokes about it,' Colbert said. 'But I also completely understand why people would say that doesn't make sense to me and that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration.' He added: 'Less than two years before they called to say it's over, they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time. So, something changed.'
