After CBS canceled The Late Show, Stephen Colbert has found a new role — but it’s a fictional one on the same network.
Colbert, 61, will guest star in the third season of the crime comedy show Elsbeth. The show is about a unique lawyer who solves murder cases in New York.
According to Variety, Colbert will play the host of a fake late-night talk show called Way Late with Scotty Bristol. No one knows yet how his character fits into the story, but the episode has already been filmed.
Colbert’s appearance was planned for a while and was set up by Wendell Pierce, his new co-star on Elsbeth. Pierce had been a guest on The Late Show in February.
During that interview, Colbert joked that he wanted to play a dead body on Elsbeth. Pierce said, “I can make that happen. I know a guy who knows a guy.”
This conversation happened just as CBS approved the third season of Elsbeth.
Deadline reported that Colbert’s role was made just for him. Even after The Late Show was canceled, they decided Colbert should still play the part.
Elsbeth stars Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, a character from the popular shows The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Other well-known actors in the show include Nathan Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Matthew Broderick, and Laura Benanti.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. CBS said the decision was about money.
However, some people think the cancellation was to please Donald Trump. Paramount, the company that owns CBS, needed approval from the Federal Communications Commission (controlled by Trump) to sell the company for $8 billion.
Colbert has often criticized Trump. Recently, he said Paramount’s $16 million payment to Trump over a CBS show called 60 Minutes was a “big fat bribe.”
Soon after Colbert said this, Paramount announced that The Late Show would be canceled.
Trump was happy about this and posted on his social media platform Truth Social: “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.”
Colbert responded by saying, “the gloves are off,” meaning he was ready to fight back.
