Following the end of an era this week on CBS, Stephen Colbert found a temporary new TV home in Monroe, Michigan.
On Friday, the 11x Emmy-winning comedian surprised local Michigan audiences when he filled in as guest host on Only in Monroe, one day after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ended its monumental run with its most-watched weeknight episode ever.
“Hello. Also, welcome. It’s time for another edition of Only in Monroe,” he kicked off the episode. “I’m your guest host Stephen Colbert. Longtime viewers of Only in Monroe may remember that back in July of 2015, I filled in for the usual hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson. Still not sure how many people that is.”
Colbert continued, “Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, which came to an end last night. It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I’m grateful to be here on Monroe Community Media, before they also get acquired by Paramount.”
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In addition to several jabs at Paramount and CBS, Colbert promoted some of Monroe Community Media’s recent coverage. He was also joined for the hour-long show by pals Jack White, Steve Buscemi, Jeff Daniels and Eminem.
After CBS announced last July that The Late Show was ending, the final episode aired Thursday on the network, with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed taking over the 11:35pm time slot. The finale drew 6.74M live + same-day viewers, his most-watched weeknight episode ever.