Stephen Colbert signs off “The Late Show” one last time: “We were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years”

Stéphane Colbert said goodbye to “The Late Show” Thursday night during the franchise’s finale after 33 years, saying he was “pretty lucky to be here for the last 11 years” and never took the experience for granted.

“There is so much history here at the Ed Sullivan Theater, and we were honored to have been a small part of it,” Colbert said in his opening monologue.

During the show’s opening, Colbert noted the “joy” the show has brought him and the cast members throughout the 11 years and more than 1,800 episodes.

“We call it the joy machine, because to do that many gigs, it has to be a machine. But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears,” Colbert said. “And I can’t adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other.”

The final show, which lasted 17 minutes longer than its usual hour, was filled with surprise cameos from celebrities such as “The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, comedian Tig Notaro, actors Ryan Reynolds, Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston and Don Cheadle and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“I didn’t think my show would end like this, but I’m still grateful,” Colbert told Stewart.

Fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver also joined Colbert on Thursday.

“We came to say we’re going to miss you. The evening won’t be the same without you,” Kimmel said.

In recognition of Colbert’s latest show, Kimmel and Fallon both aired reruns on Thursday.

Before the show, it was thought that Pope Leo

The real final guest of the show was none other than Paul McCartney.

McCartney performed at the Ed Sullivan Theater with the Beatles during their American television debut on February 9, 1964. McCartney was a guest on the show in 2019 and in 2009, when David Letterman was still the host.

Singers Elvis Costello and Jon Batiste performed Costello’s “Jump Up” during the show’s musical performance. Batiste’s return to Ed Sullivan Theater as musical guest comes after serving as conductor and musical director of “The Late Show” from 2015 to 2022.

In the final moments of Thursday’s finale, McCartney closed the show with a rendition of “Hello, Goodbye,” as Colbert joined him and the audience flooded the stage.

Before the franchise’s finale, a stream of guest stars had appeared on the series, such as actors Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal, director Steven Spielberg, Letterman, the show’s host during its 1993 debut, Bruce Springsteen and Martha Stewart.

CBS announced in July, he would end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and retire “The Late Show” franchise at the end of this season. The company said it was “a purely financial decision in a difficult late-night environment.”

This explanation was met with skepticism by some viewers and media critics, who questioned whether political motivations were involved, given Colbert’s outspoken criticism of President Trump.

Colbert lashed out at the network Thursday when his band played “Linus and Lucy,” the theme song from the “Peanuts” special, as part of an article about a copyright infringement lawsuit.

“Is the band currently playing the same music that I said people were being prosecuted for, for using without permission?…Oh no, I hope it doesn’t cost CBS money,” Colbert said.

Colbert, 62, took over as host of “The Late Show” in September 2015 after Letterman retired from the role he had held for 22 years.

The whole of “The Late Show” is given at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, a city where Colbert has deep roots. Colbert attended Northwestern University and carried out in Chicago with the famous Second City improv troupe early in his acting career.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” has been the No. 1 late-night show for nine consecutive seasons, CBS said last year. In September he won the Emmy for an outstanding talk series and received a standing ovation from the Emmys crowd.

CBS announced last month that “Comics Unleashed” by Byron Allen will replace Colbert’s show in the 11:35 p.m. ET timeslot.