Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has decided to air a repeat episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on May 21, allowing Stephen Colbert to have the spotlight for his “Late Show” finale.
In a recent announcement, Kimmel shared that his ABC show will pause new episodes on the evening of May 21, the night Stephen Colbert bids farewell on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Kimmel confirmed to LateNighter that his show will air fresh content from Monday to Wednesday next week, but will switch to a rerun on Thursday, aligning this with Colbert’s final episode. This gesture is out of respect for his colleague’s sendoff.
Meanwhile, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” is still slated to broadcast a new episode that same night.
Despite being on competing networks, Kimmel and Colbert share a friendly relationship, having appeared on each other’s shows multiple times. Kimmel himself had a notable run-in with the Trump administration over a joke linked to a controversial figure, further cementing his bond with Colbert.
Kimmel’s choice mirrors a similar decision he made in 2015 when David Letterman retired from the CBS franchise. Back then, Kimmel refrained from airing a new episode out of deep respect for Letterman’s iconic farewell.
“I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show,” he said at the time. “Plus, I’ll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work.”
The announcement comes as the final weeks of “The Late Show” have taken on the feel of a late-night reunion. Fallon, Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver joined Colbert for a “Strike Force Five” reunion episode Monday night — named after the podcast the five hosts co-produced during the 2023 writers’ strike.
They announced a reunion for a special video episode of “Strike Force Five” that will be available on May 13, Deadline reported.
David Letterman is set to appear on the show on May 14.
Other guests stopping by as the show winds down include John Krasinski, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pedro Pascal and Tom Hanks, as well as a “Colbert Questionert” segment with former President Barack Obama.
When does “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” end?
The final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will air Thursday, May 21, on CBS. Colbert has hosted “The Late Show” for 11 years, taking over from David Letterman in 2015. The show earned numerous accolades over its run, including an Emmy and a Peabody Award.
CBS announced in July 2025 that it was canceling “The Late Show,” citing financial reasons rather than the show’s content. The timing drew immediate scrutiny. Many prominent voices called the cancellation an act of censorship, as the move came during a period when parent company Paramount was seeking FCC approval for its sale to Skydance. Colbert, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, had drawn repeated rebukes from the administration in the months prior.
The finale airs May 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
