TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. "The Late Show With David Letterman" ran on CBS from 1993 until he retired in 2015. And after that, in the same Broadway space, now known as the Ed Sullivan Theater, it became "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." Tonight, after 11 years at the helm, the show's second host steps down, but not of his own volition. And the franchise itself is ending, too. Those are decisions made by CBS and its corporate owner, Paramount. But our TV critic, David Bianculli, says Colbert is very much going out on his own terms.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: Stephen Colbert has approached the last weeks of his show with what seems to be a mixture of defiance and celebration. He's defiant in that he's doing pretty much whatever he wants to. When he hosted David Letterman, the man who launched "The Late Show" and who himself was famous for gleefully throwing watermelons and other projectiles from the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert joined Letterman on the rooftop. The two of them threw things, including Colbert's desk and guest chairs, off the roof. And then Colbert gave Letterman the last word. Letterman quoted the familiar send-off of one of CBS' respected news icons, Edward R. Murrow. But Letterman's last word added an expletive.
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STEPHEN COLBERT: Well, Dave.
DAVID LETTERMAN: Yes, sir?
COLBERT: Hey, thanks so much for creating "The Late Show" 33 years ago.
LETTERMAN: Oh, no.
COLBERT: It's been a pleasure having you back to destroy some stuff.
LETTERMAN: No, the pleasure is all mine. I enjoyed destroying stuff. It's great, great fun. Thank you for everything you've done for our country.
COLBERT: Oh, the feeling is mutual, Dave. Thank you. Anything you'd like to save to the audience before we go?
LETTERMAN: Well, not necessarily to the audience. But to the folks at CBS, in the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck, motherf*****s.
(LAUGHTER)
BIANCULLI: It was a show of support and a sentiment and a phrase that caught on. Days later, on HBO's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver," Oliver used Letterman's phrase as the sign off for his own show after giving Colbert a quick plug. Oliver also showed up on Colbert's "Late Show" in solidarity, along with fellow late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. The defiance was on display there, too, as Colbert asked his guests about late night TV in general. Jimmy Kimmel, a survivor of his own politically electrified corporate battles, gave the best reply. Seth Meyers, seated next to Kimmel with an iPad, provided comic sound effects.
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COLBERT: Late night is in a bit of a weird spot right now.
JIMMY KIMMEL: Why?
COLBERT: Spoiler alert. And people questioning its future. I've been asked this question more - like three times over the last 10 months in various interviews. Like, they go like, make a case for late night. I'm like, what do you mean? And they go like, make a case for it. Like, why should it continue to exist? I'm like, people like it. I enjoy doing it.
KIMMEL: Yeah.
(CHEERING)
COLBERT: But why would you say that - make a case for late night.
KIMMEL: Well, I would say that in my - well, I look at the figures. And the fact of the matter is more people are watching late night television now than - and I know everybody gets crazy - than when Johnny Carson. Now, obviously, Johnny Carson had a lot of people watching one show. But we have a lot of shows...
COLBERT: Six - how many people a show? Yeah.
KIMMEL: ...With, like, 30,000 people watching each one, right? And it adds up. And people watch us on YouTube now. And people have a lot of different options, and yet still - they keep coming to us. And I will tell you, when I got knocked off the air for a few days, people...
(SOUNDBITE OF TROMBONE PLAYING)
KIMMEL: Thank you.
(BOOING)
KIMMEL: People...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I'm going to press the high hat.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: People canceled Disney+. Why isn't...
(CHEERING)
KIMMEL: Why...
(APPLAUSE)
KIMMEL: Why aren't you people canceling Paramount+? 'Cause you didn't have it in the first place?
(LAUGHTER)
BIANCULLI: Stephen Colbert also showed defiance in planning his final shows. One program, presenting sketches and ideas that didn't make the air, pretty much was an inside joke aimed at his staffers who were the only ones seated in that night's audience. It wasn't that entertaining to watch, but I suspect that may have been the point. Colbert made that show with and for the coworkers he loved so much because he could.
And on other shows, Colbert's musical guests and song selections were statements, too. He got Bernadette Peters and other Broadway musical stars to sing "Putting It Together" from Steven Sondheim's "Sunday In The Park With George," a song that's all about the joys and difficulties of making art. And David Byrne came on to perform a highly charged version of "Burning Down The House." In the context of Colbert and his show, both leaving CBS, those lyrics were amazingly spot on. And Colbert joined in at the end, singing and dancing with Ed Grimley-type glee. And of course, Colbert was ruthless to the end in his monologues, diving deeply into political topics instead of avoiding them, like this joke from earlier this week.
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COLBERT: Today, the Justice Department posted an addendum to the original settlement, which says that the IRS is forever barred and precluded from pursuing examinations of Trump, related or affiliated individuals and related trusts and businesses. So he just gave himself a get-out-of-jail-free card and a way better one than Jeffrey Epstein got.
(LAUGHTER)
BIANCULLI: The celebratory element of these final shows has been reflected in the A-list guests who showed up and how Colbert interacted with them. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks showed up separately, with projects to plug, but also brought stories and perspective. And Tom brought gifts, including a vintage typewriter, one of his well-known passions. Jon Stewart, who, like Letterman, was one of Colbert's former employers, had a great time comparing getting-fired stories. Several of these shows and guests could have been the finale - David Letterman, Jon Stewart, the gaggle of late-night cronies, and Barack Obama, who appeared in a pre-taped segment to answer the Colbert questionnaire.
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COLBERT: What is the scariest animal?
(LAUGHTER)
BARACK OBAMA: This is a scientific nerd question, but mosquitoes are the scariest animal.
COLBERT: Sure.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: Yeah. Yeah. Because?
OBAMA: Yeah. They bring a lot of bad diseases.
COLBERT: There you go.
OBAMA: Yeah.
BIANCULLI: Tonight is the real last show, and the final guests and contents are a mystery. Meanwhile, it's still a mystery to me why CBS and Paramount are being so shortsighted and stupid. Firing Colbert - that's bad enough, but he'll do fine. Ending the late-show franchise - that's the worst mistake CBS has made with its entertainment lineup since firing the Smothers Brothers.
GROSS: David Bianculli is FRESH AIR's TV critic. I'm sure the show will be great tonight, and Colbert will probably make us laugh, but when his show is over, it's going to be really sad. I'll miss you, Stephen Colbert.
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(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
COLBERT: And now performing "Burning Down The House," David Byrne.
(APPLAUSE)
GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Sam Briger. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman, and Nico Gonzalez-Wisler. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Thea Chaloner directed today's show. Our cohost is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.
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DAVID BYRNE: (Singing) Ah, watch out. You might get what you're after. Cool babies. Strange but not a stranger. I'm an ordinary guy burning down the house. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
