Stephen Colbert’s long road to goodbye has officially begun.
The comedian will kick off his final season of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the end of his tenure as a CBS late-night host, which began in 2015. It will also be the end of “The Late Show” itself, after the network announced the show’s cancellation in July.
The comedian John Oliver will be the guest, and Joe Dombrowski will perform a stand-up routine.
If Colbert had been feeling uneasy about entering this chapter, there were no signs of it — at least not on social media. The show’s Instagram account on Tuesday shared a photo from last weekend of Colbert and his wife, Evie McGee Colbert, enjoying the U.S. Open, where he received cheers. The caption read, “See you tonight.”
CBS’s announcement more than six weeks ago shocked the entertainment industry and raised questions about its timing and connection to Colbert’s criticism of the network’s parent company, Paramount, which paid President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over the editing of an interview on “60 Minutes.” In an episode of the show three days before the cancellation news, Colbert had characterized the settlement as a “big fat bribe.” (The payment will go to Mr. Trump’s legal fees and to his future presidential library.)
At the time, Paramount was also closing an $8 billion merger with the movie studio Skydance, which required approval from the Trump administration. The merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in late July and completed in early August.
CBS executives said in a statement at the time that the cancellation was “a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and unrelated to the show’s performance, content or “other matters happening at Paramount.”
Still, the announcement raised questions among some lawmakers. Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, said the public deserved to know if the show had been canceled for political reasons. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, echoed that sentiment, saying that Paramount’s settlement with Mr. Trump “looks like bribery.”
Fans of the show also expressed their consternation outside the Ed Sullivan Theater. David Brown said that not to have Colbert’s “sharp political commentary” would be “a big loss.” David Nevins, who raced from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan after hearing the cancellation news, said, “Reading that headline activated a lightning strike,” adding, “I knew I just had to come here and bear witness.”
Other late-night hosts lent their support to Colbert. Jimmy Fallon said on social media that he was just as shocked as everyone else, adding that Colbert was one of the “sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it.”
Andy Cohen said on “Radio Andy” that CBS was turning the lights out at 11:30 p.m., adding “CBS is just, like, cooked.”