Inside Stephen Colbert’s post-‘Late Show’ plans as talk show comes to a close

Stephen Colbert has big family plans after saying goodbye to his talk show.

The comedian recently told People he is “going to [his] brother’s wedding in Washington D.C.” right after wrapping “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

The comedian, who filmed the final episode Thursday night, explained, “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.”

After the nuptials, Colbert, 62, will co-write “The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past” script with his son Peter.

News broke in March that Colbert and the 28-year-old are working on the new movie set in late author J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world. 

Colbert has “been thinking about” the film for years, he explained to People.

“I’ve been working on it with my son since COVID actually, and then working on it with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh for almost two years now,” he clarified. “So that wasn’t a post-show idea.”

As for other plans, Colbert is open to whatever comes his way, simply telling the outlet, “I’m available.”

“We’ll land this plane,” he said, referring to ending the show, “and we’ll check out the view from there.” 

Colbert announced the long-running series’ cancellation in July 2025 after 33 years on air. 

The Emmy winner, notably, has been at the helm since he succeeded David Letterman, who hosted the show from 1993 to 2015.

When the live audience booed in response to last year’s cancellation news, Colbert quipped, “Yeah, I share your feelings. It isn’t just the end of our show but the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

CBS canceled the series as a “purely financial decision,” the network claimed to Variety at the time, claiming it was, “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” 

On Thursday evening’s final show, the host brought out surprise guests, including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Ryan Reynolds and Paul McCartney. 

His fellow late-night hosts — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver — also made appearances to send Colbert off.

During Colbert’s last monologue in New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theater., he addressed his employees.

“I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other,” he gushed. “We’ve had so much fun in this theater.”

In the “first draft” of Colbert’s goodbye card, he jokingly asked, “How do you start an OnlyFans?”