Stephen Colbert’s Final ‘Late Show’ Draws Most Weeknight Viewers of His Tenure
Stephen Colbert's final episode of The Late Show attracted 6.74 million viewers, the highest for a weeknight episode during his tenure. This figure is significantly above the season average of 2.69 million viewers but still falls short of David Letterman's farewell episode viewership. The finale featured star-studded appearances and highlighted the changing landscape of late-night television viewership.
- ▪The final episode drew 6.74 million viewers, the most-ever for a weeknight episode.
- ▪Colbert's show averaged between 2.4 million and 2.7 million viewers per episode during its last season.
- ▪The finale included appearances by celebrities like Bryan Cranston and Paul Rudd, along with a performance by Paul McCartney.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during Thursday’s May 21, 2026 show. Scott Kowalchyk/CBS Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The final episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert drew 6.74 million viewers for CBS on Thursday, the most-ever for a weeknight episode, according to preliminary Nielsen data. That’s more than double the season average, with the Late Show generally drawing between 2.4 million and 2.7 million viewers an episode this past season, which was its last on CBS.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hollywood Reporter.
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