Stephen Colbert Grilled by Billy Crystal, Amy Sedaris, and Wife in Emotional Late Show Sendoff

Stephen Colbert reversed the roles of his signature interview segment during his second-to-last episode of The Late Show, appearing in the hot seat to answer questions from a variety of familiar faces.

Rather than conducting a traditional celebrity interview, Colbert participated in a version of the Colbert Questionert, a standardized list of 15 questions that cover a broad range of topics, from favorite sandwiches to theories regarding life after death.

The host was questioned by a group of former guests, including Billy Crystal, Josh Brolin, Weird Al Yankovic, Martha Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Mark Hamill, Ben Stiller, Tiffany Haddish, Aubrey Plaza, James Taylor, Robert De Niro and John Dickerson.

The segment featured a notable interaction with Colbert’s wife, Evie McGee-Colbert, who was introduced as the Late Show's First Lady. When asked by McGee-Colbert to name his favorite smell, the host described the scent of rose lotion when his spouse gets ready to go out.

Colbert noted that the smell indicates his wife has finished her shower and is in the process of dressing, a response that elicited laughter from McGee-Colbert.

Following the appearance of his wife, Amy Sedaris, a friend of Colbert for nearly 40 years, joined the segment. Sedaris pretended to go rogue by ripping up her assigned question before asking Colbert about his least favorite smell.

Colbert recalled a childhood memory involving a neighbor named Mrs. Miller. He described an incident where a jar of grease had leaked into a bag of sugar, causing the sugar to become rancid.

Colbert stated that upon smelling the mixture as a boy, he realized it was worse than any other bad smell he had ever encountered, and the experience remained with him.

The episode, which served as a sentimental sendoff, also featured a musical performance by Bruce Springsteen. The broadcast took place on May 20, 2026, one day prior to Colbert’s final sign-off.

CBS had confirmed the final air date for The Late Show in January, scheduling the series finale for May 21, 2026.

The decision to end the program followed an announcement from CBS last summer. The cancellation occurred after Colbert criticized a $16 million settlement between Paramount and President Donald Trump, which the host described as a big fat bribe.

Despite the timing of the comments, CBS executives stated that the decision to cancel the series was based purely on financial considerations.

The series finale of The Late Show airs May 21, 2026, at 11:35 PM ET on CBS.