Stephen Colbert drew attention to his looming end date during Wednesday’s monologue, as he chose to offload some of his Iran war material to his fellow late night star, Jimmy Kimmel.
The bit came about during the start of Wednesday night’s “The Late Show,” where the comedian weighed in on the latest surrounding the Iran war. Namely, Colbert discussed how Trump extended the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, but never specified an end date.
“You know what? I’m beginning to think this war might not be over by Memorial Day,” Colbert said before pulling out a package. “Which reminds me, hold on one second. Let me sign this box here. FedEx to ABC, care of Jimmy Kimmel, Hollywood.”
As Colbert took a step back, the box in-question was clearly labeled “Iran War Joke.” He added, “Enjoy, buddy! It’s coming to you. Can we get this in the mail? There we go.”
In January, CBS locked in the final air date for “The Late Show,” which will be May 21. The decision followed CBS’ announcement last summer, in which they shared that “The Late Show” would be coming to an end shortly after Colbert mocked Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump, blasting the move as a “big fat bribe.”
However, CBS executives noted at the time that the cancellation decision was purely a financial one.
“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” Colbert noted during a July monologue. “And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I’m so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here out there all around the world.”
While Colbert has carried on with the show, he admitted in January during an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” that his show’s cancellation was starting to feel real.
“It feels real now,” Colbert told Meyers. “It did not feel … I mean, I know it was real, but now, there’s four months left. You know, the shows are fun to do. But what I really love is the people I do it with.”
“We’ll do something else together, but it feels real now,” Colbert further shared. “I’m not thrilled with it.”
Watch Colbert’s full monologue above.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
