A Farewell to a Late-Night Legend
On May 21, as Stephen Colbert prepares for his final night behind the desk, Jimmy Kimmel will take a moment to honor the late-night icon by airing a rerun on his own show instead of competing for attention. This gesture marks the end of an era for one of the most iconic shows in television history.
The Late Show was canceled by CBS in July 2025, with the network citing financial pressures and the evolving television landscape. However, the decision now appears even more significant as ABC confirms that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will air a rerun on May 21 during Stephen Colbert’s final night hosting The Late Show. Fresh episodes will still run Monday through Wednesday, but Jimmy Kimmel has deliberately cleared the lane for the farewell broadcast. According to LateNighter, the move was made out of deference to Colbert’s sendoff.
This gesture also echoes a notable moment from late-night history. In 2015, Jimmy Kimmel similarly aired a rerun during David Letterman’s final broadcast of The Late Show, allowing the longtime host an uninterrupted goodbye.
A Major Reunion Episode
The scheduling news arrives just before a major reunion episode on May 11. Stephen Colbert will welcome Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver to The Late Show, reuniting the group behind Strike Force Five. The podcast famously launched during the 2023 Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes, with proceeds supporting crew members left unpaid during the industry shutdown.
David Letterman’s return on May 14 adds another sentimental flourish to the farewell procession. The final guest slate includes John Krasinski, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pedro Pascal, and Tom Hanks, which resembles the seating chart at an unusually expensive charity gala. Barack Obama, Broadway performers, and The Strokes will also appear before the Ed Sullivan Theater finally lowers the curtain on The Late Show.
Stephen Colbert’s farewell has become both sentimental and strategic, with Jimmy Kimmel’s rerun serving as a quiet salute to their friendship.
A Friendship Beyond Rivalry
Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert’s friendship stands in stark contrast to the famously icy rivalries that once defined late-night television. Over the past decade, the two hosts have built a friendship that often felt more fraternal than competitive. That closeness became especially visible in September 2025, when both hosts appeared on each other’s programs simultaneously during an unusually emotional television crossover.
The friendship has always carried a faintly absurd charm. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert share agent James ‘Baby Doll’ Dixon, a man they have repeatedly treated like the crowned monarch of American late-night, complete with custom portraits and affectionate praise as per The Late Show. Against that backdrop, the rerun on Stephen Colbert’s final evening feels less like a scheduling strategy and more like one comedian quietly dimming the marquee for another.
