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Stephen Colbert looked almost unrecognizable with a beard while celebrating The Late Show‘s nomination at the 2026 Emmy Awards months after the program came to an end.
Colbert had visible facial hair on Monday, September 14, ahead of the awards ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was nominated for one award for Outstanding Variety Series.
Colbert revealed the iconic late night program would end after nearly 33 years in July 2025.
“Before we start the show I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season,” announced at the time and as the audience booed. “I share your feelings. It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
He continued, “I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. … And I’m grateful to the audience, you, who have joined us every night, in here, out there and all around the world.”
The timing of the announcement was met with intense skepticism, as the decision to cancel the program came shortly after Colbert spoke out about Paramount, CBS’ parent company, settling what he called “a nuisance lawsuit” brought by President Donald Trump.
Stephen Colbert. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
In his lawsuit, the president alleged that 60 Minutes had unfairly edited an interview of Kamala Harris.
“I do not dispute their rationale [that it was for financial reasons],” Colbert told The New York Times in April when asked about viewers who are questioning the reason for his late night talk show coming to an end. “I do make jokes about it.”
The comedian said he could see both sides of the argument.
“But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn’t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me,” he noted. “Because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.”
During his show’s final episode in May, Colbert released a special message for his many fans.
“I talked to the audience beforehand, and tonight I thought I’d talk to the audience in here [the Ed Sullivan Theater] and the audience out there at home,” he said. “This show, I want you to know, has been a joy for us to do for you. In fact, we call this show The Joy Machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine.”
Colbert thanked the audience for tuning in over the years.
“I just want to let all y’all know in here and out there how important you’ve been to what we have done. The energy that you’ve given us, we sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you for the last 11 years,” he continued. “You’ve given it to us, we’ve given it all right back to you.”
He concluded: “We love doing this show for you, but we really, really love is doing the show with you. Now, I’ll say to you what I’ve said to every audience for the last 11 years, and I’ve meant it every time: Have a good show. Thanks for being here. And let’s do it, y’all.”
