Stephen Colbert Announces Final Barack Obama Interview on 'Late Show' Before Series Ends

Stephen Colbert has secured a historic final interview with former President Barack Obama for ‘The Late Show,’ confirming the announcement during Thursday’s broadcast.

“Folks before we get started, I have a quick but exciting announcement,” Colbert told his studio audience and home viewers. “Tuesday, May 5, here on ‘The Late Show,’ in his first interview from the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, I will be sitting down with former President Barack Obama.”

Watch a clip of Colbert’s update below.

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The conversation between Colbert and Obama will be their last televised exchange on the program, as ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ is set to conclude on May 21 after nearly a decade on CBS.

CBS Confirms Final Air Date for ‘The Late Show’

In January, CBS announced the show’s final air date as May 21, following a decision made last summer. The move came after Colbert criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump, calling it a “big fat bribe.” However, CBS executives clarified that the cancellation was a financial decision unrelated to the controversy.

“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.”

Colbert Reflects on the Show’s End

While Colbert has continued taping new episodes, he acknowledged in January on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ that the cancellation was becoming undeniable.

“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. I’m not thrilled with it.”

‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.