Logo text
24 hours after hosting the last one ever Late show On CBS, Stephen Colbert returns to late night… on Michigan Public Television.
Colbert hosted Only in Monroe in Monroe, Michigan, at 11:30 PM on Friday, with surprise guests Jack White and Jeff Daniels, and surprise appearances by Steve Buscemi, Eminem and Byron Allen (via FaceTime). Regular hosts Michelle Bowman and Kay Lani Rae Rafko Wilson (former Miss America!) also hosted the show.
“Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I have spent 11 years as the show’s primary host The Late Show with Stephen Colbert “On CBS, which ended last night. It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I’m grateful that I was able to be here at Monroe Community Media before Paramount acquired it as well,” Colbert said at the top of the program.
The show, spotted by LateNighter, is structured like a classic late-night show, albeit with a monologue focusing on issues relevant to Southern Michigan and interviews. The show concluded with Colbert, Bowman, Wilson, Daniels and White being destroyed Only in Monroe Put in the trash.
In fact, as Colbert alluded to, this was his second time hosting Only in Monroe. He also hosted an episode in the summer of 2015, before succeeding David Letterman at the top Late Show On CBS. Colbert even made a reference to his appearance on the show’s late-night finale, telling the audience, “We’ve been lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years. We can’t take this for granted.” “Although technically our first show in July of 2015 was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, to an audience of 12. Show business being what it is these days, you’ll probably see me next.”
As it happened, that’s exactly where he went next.
Watch Stephen Colbert Only in Monroeless.
It’s not immediately clear when Colbert recorded the tape Only in Monroe appearance. He said Hollywood Reporter In his exit interview he said he would spend Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., to attend his brother’s wedding.
“My brother is getting married, so my whole family will be here on the 21st, and then we’ll all get on the train and go to D.C. for the wedding,” Colbert said. “So, right after the show ends, there’s something more important that happens. And there’s something more important that happens the Monday before, too. My son is graduating from college. And then there’s a little point in the middle where my 20-year career ends late at night. The universe has conspired to give me the right perspective.”
But he still finds time to return to Monroe, Michigan, a decade or so after his last visit.
