Stephen Colbert returns to TV on local Michigan station
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during the show on Thursday, July 25, 2019.
CBS Photo Archive | CBS | Getty Images
Stephen Colbert’s final appearance on “The Late Show” on Thursday marked the end of his 11-year run as a late-night TV staple. But a day later, he found a way back to television: a public access station in Michigan.
Colbert appeared as a surprise guest host on Monroe Community Media’s “Only in Monroe” on Friday night. The station serves Monroe, Michigan, a town south of Detroit near the state’s border with Ohio, and the surrounding county of the same name.
At 23:35 local time, the channel’s viewers saw Colbert appear on screens.
“It was an excruciating 23 hours without being on television, so I was grateful to be able to be here before they too were acquired by Monroe Community Media. extraordinary” he said at the beginning of the broadcast.
The announcement ending Colbert’s show in July was not without controversy. Some observers suggested this was to curry favor with President Donald Trump’s administration as the company sought regulatory approval to merge with Skydance. Colbert frequently made fun of Trump on his show.
Regulators approved the merger of Paramount and Skydance later that month.
At the time, Paramount said there was no reason for its decision to cancel Colbert’s campaign other than financial factors, and that it was struggling to keep up with changing media consumption habits with the rise of late-night streaming viewing.
People wait in line outside the Ed Sullivan Theater before the taping of the final episode of “The Late Show”, which aired 32 years later, on May 21, 2026, in New York City.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
This was a point where Colbert joked with the Michigan audience.
“Viewers outside the Monroe area can view Monroe Community Media through something known as streaming, which I promised I wouldn’t find out about when I was at CBS,” he joked. “And apparently CBS decided not to find out.”
Colbert’s appearance on Friday night’s “Only in Monroe” wasn’t his first. At the beginning of the program, he reminded viewers that he became a guest host in July 2015.
Colbert’s guests on the show included musician Jack White and actor Jeff Daniels. Both grew up in Michigan. Actor Steve Buscemi also appeared in a commercial for a pizza restaurant bearing his last name.
During the show, Colbert even came face-to-face with comedian Byron Allen, who will take up his timeslot on CBS.
Colbert didn’t give any hints about what he might do after his guest-hosting stint, but instead said he’d like to be invited back to the local show in the future.
“Thank you for letting me host your show every 11 years,” he said. was forwarded to the program’s two co-hosts. “See you again in 2037, ladies.”
