"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert played a murdered talk show host in the quirky detective series "Elsbeth."
Colbert announced to his audience in July that CBS cancelling his show in spring 2026. The show’s cancellation follows the network and its parent company’s settlement with President Donald Trump over the summer after he sued both for "election interference" over a "60 Minutes" interview edit of his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
But the talk show host is generating new headlines this week for appearing in "Elsbeth's" season 3 premiere. Colbert portrayed the eponymous late night talk show host of "Way Late with Scotty Bristol," who is murdered by his executive producer.
According to IMDb, "Elsbeth," focuses on an "Astute but unconventional attorney Elsbeth Tascioni utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD."
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Host Stephen Colbert's show will be shut down in the spring of 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
With recent controversies about late-night talk shows ranging from the cancellation of Colbert’s show to the brief suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" some, like culture writer Emma Fraser wrote in the Daily Beast that one "might be under the impression that showrunner Jonathan Tolins is taking a ripped-from-the-headlines approach to the popular series."
However, the truth is more complicated, as showrunner Tolins reportedly wrote the episode before Colbert announced his show was being shut down.
"The first thing that he [Colbert] said to me was, ‘Wow, everybody’s gonna think that the Elsbeth writers have the biggest balls in Hollywood,’" Carrie Preston, who plays the titular character, told The Daily Beast.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert, playing a murdered talk show host, appeared to some as eerily parallel to his actual show getting canceled in real life. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
But while Colbert plays a talk show host who is literally killed, the character he plays is one that does not appear to be based on himself.
"Scotty isn’t the kindest TV star or boss, which is why his executive producer, Laurel (Amy Sedaris), turns a paper shredder into a murder weapon," Fraser wrote.
"Although they have the same job, Scotty Bristol is not the loving, accepting, wonderful, and welcoming person that Stephen Colbert is," Preston said.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert have both been at the center of controversies that some say do not bode well for the future of late-night talk shows. (CBS/LateShowStephenColbert)