Stephen Colbert returns to late-night TV post-cancellation, as guest on Kimmel

He’s back.

Former Late Show host Stephen Colbert, fresh off of his Emmys win, appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night, marking his first late-night television appearance since CBS cancelled his show earlier this year.

Colbert walked out to a standing ovation, leading Kimmel to joke that Colbert was like “a shark returning to the ocean where he belongs.”

WATCH | Stephen Colbert’s full interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!:

Kimmel noted that Colbert seemed happier and healthier away from the daily news cycle. Colbert replied that he no longer had to “drink a cup of poison” every night, describing the experience of stepping away from the news as a welcome change.

Kimmel made a brief reference to U.S. President Donald Trump and the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show in his monologue. But the interview itself contained no extended political zingers or deep dive into the day’s headlines.

Instead, the appearance gave viewers a chance to see Colbert four months after he went off the air — relaxed, playful and happy to let the evening be about comedy, rather than on the political commentary that defined much of his decade behind the desk.

It was a fun reunion from the start, with Kimmel poking fun at Colbert, who seemed jovial after winning best outstanding variety series for The Late Show for the second consecutive and final time at Monday night’s Emmy Awards.

Kimmel recalled sharing Emmy celebrations with Colbert, Jon Stewart and John Oliver. A photograph of the group inspired a joke about an “endangered table,” a nod to the changing late-night television landscape and the shrinking number of familiar faces behind the desk.

The conversation then moved away from television and into more personal, physical comedy — specifically, Colbert’s beard.

Colbert said his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, dislikes the beard and its prickliness has shortened their kisses. He had previously joked that if he won an Emmy, he would shave it off.

After Colbert’s win, Kimmel offered to shave it on air.

Colbert agreed, and Kimmel brought out a pair of clippers. Colbert looked into a mirror and removed his beard on air, with Kimmel making jokes about saving the hair as a piece of late-night history.

The interview also touched on a film project Colbert is developing with his son, Peter McGee. A longtime devotee of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Colbert is co-writing The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past along with McGee and Philippa Boyens, a co-writer on previous Lord of the Rings films.

Colbert did not announce a new television project. Instead, he joked about having “so much free time” and the freedom to travel now that he is no longer required to show up every night and explain the news.

The interview ended with Colbert gifting Kimmel a Captain America shield prop, which Kimmel promptly affixed to his set.

After a decade spent turning the day’s political turmoil into nightly comedy, Colbert seemed content to let someone else deliver the monologue while he played the guest.

WATCH | Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue:

CBS announced last summer that it was cancelling The Late Show, saying it would end in May 2026, describing the move as a “purely a financial decision.” The move sparked skepticism because the announcement came two days after Colbert publicly criticized parent company Paramount Global for settling a lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes story. Many viewers and commentators suspected the timing signalled a political motive.