Stephen Colbert will mark his final episode of The Late Show on Thursday with a festive wrap party, where attendees have been asked to follow a tongue-in-cheek dress code of “Fired & Festive!”
According to Variety, the invitation features an edited version of the show’s red, white and blue logo reading “The LAST SHOW with Stephen Colbert,” followed by “that’s a WRAP! (PARTY).” The event will take place after the taping at a nearby venue, with crew and past celebrity guests in attendance.
The broadcast on CBS brings to an end a franchise that began in 1993 with David Letterman. The network announced the cancellation last July, describing Colbert as “irreplaceable” and insisting the decision was “financial.” It came days after Colbert criticised Paramount, CBS’s parent company, for settling a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump over allegations that 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with Kamala Harris.
Since then, Colbert has repeatedly taken aim at his corporate bosses. In January, he joked about Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which requires member nations to contribute more than $1 billion. “Now, admittedly, the idea of paying a billion dollars to obey Donald Trump seems a little steep; after all, CBS got to do it for just $16 million,” the comedian said.
Addressing the cancellation last July, Colbert told his studio audience: “Cancel culture has gone too far... They left me alive. And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power.”
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert concludes Thursday on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.
