Once fierce rivals on network television, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel now express their camaraderie with Stephen Colbert, whom they will miss dearly as he departs.
In an unusual gesture of support, Fallon, 51, and Kimmel, 58, are pausing their own productions to honor Colbert’s final episode of The Late Show, set to air on Thursday. Instead of fresh content, their programs will broadcast reruns, allowing the spotlight to rest solely on Colbert’s farewell performance.
With this act of solidarity, all eyes will be on Colbert, who is sure to have a few memorable moments planned for his departure.
On his Wednesday night broadcast, Fallon wrapped up with a heartfelt mention of Colbert, 62.
“Thank you for watching,” Fallon, the host of The Tonight Show, remarked to his audience. “Stay tuned for Late Night with Seth Meyers. And Stephen, have a fantastic show tomorrow. We’ll be watching. Good night, everyone.”
Despite recent buzz from guest Sienna Miller, who shared an intimate moment on his show, Fallon intends to tune in to Colbert’s final appearance in the 11:35 p.m. slot.
Jimmy Fallon (pictured left) and Jimmy Kimmel (pictured right) are giving Stephen Colbert an unusual sendoff as The Late Show airs its last episode on Thursday – by going dark in late-night solidarity
The spotlight will only shine on Colbert, who no doubt has a few surprises up his sleeve for his bittersweet farewell; pictured on May 7
However, The Tonight Show will air a new episode on Friday with guests Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and musical guest Maluma.
Kimmel’s set also went dark in 2015 when Colbert’s predecessor, David Letterman, signed off as host of The Late Show.
Days before the death knell, Colbert assembled Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, John Oliver, and the now-retired Letterman, to help him throw some CBS furniture off the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater, including Colbert’s office chair, per Entertainment Weekly.
Antics aside, Colbert recently revealed he’s feeling philosophical about CBS’ decision to axe the late-night TV talk show.
‘I mean, you can’t do this forever. You have to think about, well, when is the right time to end your tenure? I didn’t think this soon, but I mean, who knows?’ he told People.
‘Maybe CBS saved my life because it takes a lot of bone marrow to do the show every day, and now I’ll be stepping down with enough time, enough energy to do other things that I want to do.’
Colbert also shared how he’ll be spending his first day after The Late Show ends.
‘I’m going to my brother’s wedding in Washington D.C.,’ he said. ‘My [eight] brothers and sisters and [their] husbands and wives are coming to the last show, and then we’re all getting on the train the next day and going down to D.C. to go to Tommy’s wedding.’
Fallon concluded his Wednesday show with a nod to Colbert, saying, ‘And Stephen, have a great show tomorrow. We’ll be watching’
Days before the death knell, Colbert assembled Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, John Oliver, and the now-retired Letterman for a bonding session that included a special task
The Five Strikes Back gang helped Colbert throw some CBS furniture off the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater where The Late Show was taped
Colbert shared he is going to his brother’s wedding in Washington D.C. the first day after The Late Show ends
Colbert is looking forward to the focus being on his brother, rather than himself for once.
‘It’s great, I love it,’ he continued. ‘The next day focus is not on me, focus is on my brother. So much better. We’ll get drunk and we’ll sing. We all think we have good voices. That’s the great danger of our family, especially the men. It’ll be great.’
Colbert announced the axing of The Late Show in July 2025.
The comedian – who replaced Letterman at the helm in 2015 – thanked CBS and TV viewers at the time for their support of the show.
He said: ‘I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away. I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners… And I’m grateful to the audience, you, who have joined us every night, in here, out there, and all around the world.’
