{"id":26285,"date":"2026-05-25T07:28:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=26285"},"modified":"2026-05-25T07:28:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:28:52","slug":"23-hours-thats-all-it-took-for-stephen-colbert-to-come-back-and-turn-his-tv-return-into-total-chaos-less-than-a-full-day-after-delivering-his-emotional-final-bow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=26285","title":{"rendered":"\u201c23 HOURS. THAT\u2019S ALL IT TOOK FOR STEPHEN COLBERT TO COME BACK\u2026 AND TURN HIS TV RETURN INTO TOTAL CHAOS.\u201d Less than a full day after delivering his emotional final bow on The Late Show, Colbert shocked viewers by suddenly reappearing on television \u2014 and wasting absolutely no time taking razor-sharp shots that fans instantly believed were aimed straight at CBS. \u201cI\u2019ve suffered through an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV,\u201d he joked as the audience erupted, but what followed felt far bigger than a simple comeback. With surprise appearances from Jeff Daniels, Jack White, Eminem, and Steve Buscemi, the entire broadcast spiraled into hilarious, unpredictable madness"},"content":{"rendered":"

The comedian quickly bounced back in a public access show that featured guest appearances from Jeff Daniels, Jack White, Eminem, and Steve Buscemi.<\/p>\n

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Stephen Colbert on \u2018The Late Show\u2019 on May 20, 2026. Credit: Scott Kowalchyk\/CBS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Stephen Colbert\u00a0has already made his return to TV.<\/p>\n

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On Friday, just one day after\u00a0The Late Show<\/em>\u00a0wrapped its 33-year run on CBS, the comedian popped back up on another late-night episode \u2014 on Michigan public access TV.<\/p>\n

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Colbert made the trek to Monroe, Mich., to guest-host the local show\u00a0Only in Monroe<\/em>, where he took several cracks at his former employers at CBS.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Later, he joked, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any sponsors? And we actually lost a lot of money making the show tonight? Now I know how CBS felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stephen Colbert on \u2018Only in Monroe\u2019. MonroeCommunityMedia\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

After making several\u00a0Late Show\u2013<\/em>style quips related to local Monroe news, Colbert jabbed, \u201cViewers outside the greater Monroe area are able to view Monroe Community Media thanks to something known as streaming, which I promised not to learn about while I was on CBS. And evidently CBS also decided not to learn about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entertainment Weekly\u00a0<\/em>has reached out to representatives for CBS for comment.<\/p>\n

Colbert also interviewed Michelle Bowman and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, the usual hosts of\u00a0Only in Monroe<\/em>, asking them why the show went on hiatus for a period. \u201cI understand you stopped making\u00a0Only in Monroe<\/em>\u00a0for a while,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy\u2019d you stop? Was it \u2018purely financial\u2019 reasons?\u201d<\/p>\n