Stephen Colbert on Finding Out His Show Was Canceled & Jimmy Kimmel Being Taken Off The Air

The lights are bright. The crowd is buzzing. Tonight, something special is happening—two late-night titans, Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, sharing not just a stage, but a story.

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Jimmy Kimmel opens with a wink:
“Our first guest tonight is an Emmy-winning late night talk show host who, thanks to the Trump administration, is now available for a limited time only. He’s here on our show while I am simultaneously on his. Please welcome Steven Colbert!”

The applause is thunderous. Colbert steps into the spotlight, grinning.

“Thank you, Mr. Goldber—very much. Man, I hope they put out the plastic ketchup bottles at the White House tonight.”

Kimmel laughs. “How are you? I’m so happy you’re here. I saw you at the Emmys a couple weeks ago—I’ve never been happier to lose.”

Colbert fires back, “And I’ve never been happier for you to lose the empire!”

The banter is warm, but beneath it, there’s something heavier. Both men have felt the sting of cancellation—Colbert’s show, pulled out from under him, and Kimmel’s own future uncertain.

Kimmel brings up Colbert’s Emmy speech, the one where he quoted Prince:
“God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy, punch a higher floor.”

Colbert explains, “I was listening to Prince in the car with my wife and Carrie, our mutual friend and head of my production company. They said, ‘See if you can fit that in your speech.’ So I did.”

They talk about the grind of late night—ten years, endless effort. Colbert recalls, “We got nominated the day before we got cancelled. It was hot side, cold side. To celebrate with our staff that night was everything.”

Kimmel asks about the moment Colbert found out his show was cancelled. Colbert describes the surreal experience:
“My manager, your manager, John Stewart’s manager—James ‘Baby Doll’ Dixon—calls me for a 15-minute meeting. I walk in the door two and a half hours later, and my wife asks, ‘Did you get cancelled?’ I said, ‘Yes, I did.’”

He didn’t want to ruin his staff’s summer break. He sweated through his shirt, dreading the announcement. He told only his executive producer and a few close colleagues, then did the whole show as usual. Only at the end did he gather everyone on Zoom and break the news.

Colbert remembers, “I was so nervous, I messed up the announcement twice and had to restart. The audience thought it was a bit, cheering me on, ‘You can do it, Steve!’ But when I finally said it, nobody laughed.”

Kimmel shares how he found out:
“My executive producer stopped me before I finished the show and said, ‘Jimmy, you’ve been pulled indefinitely by ABC.’ There was no rationale, just a text. I assumed it was my fault.”

The next night, Kimmel dedicated his show to Colbert. “To know you well is to admire you deeply,” he says. “I’m so happy your show is back on the air. We’ve known each other for over 20 years, but only really gotten close in the last few. The more I know you, the more I admire you as a leader and a friend. And you’re funny, too.”

Colbert grins, “Most people just watch me with the sound off and think, ‘He’s gotten really fit in his old age.’”

They reminisce about a summer fishing trip, the trout they caught, and the photo Colbert let Kimmel hold. “That’s just the kind of guy you are,” Kimmel jokes.

Colbert brings up Jimmy Fallon’s birthday, sharing a group text:
“Fallon, it’s really selfish of you to have a birthday right now, given how divided this country is. If anyone deserves a birthday, it’s Kimmel. But you just do whatever makes you happy, I guess.”

They laugh, trading jabs about selfishness and small fish.

As the show wraps, Kimmel raises a toast:
“And that is Steven Colbert, everybody. Enjoy him weeknights on CBS.”

The music swells. The crowd cheers. Two friends, two survivors of late night, sharing laughter, loss, and resilience—live from Brooklyn, New York.