May 23, 2026

Stephen Colbert got a final dig in with his now former network during his show's finale:

Stephen Colbert's final episode of The Late Show included a slew of surprises — and one swipe at CBS. [...]

During the segment, in which he pokes fun at news headlines, Colbert explained that the owner of the music of a Charlie Brown Christmas and other Peanuts television specials has filed four lawsuits "against those illegally using the famous song 'Linus and Lucy.'"

"Now Peanuts is a powerful brand and corporation in and of itself, anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose, Lewis," he said, speaking to his band leader, Louis Cato.

Suddenly, the Great Big Joy Machine band started playing the iconic song from the cartoon. "Excuse me, Lewis, is the band, is the band right now playing the same Peanuts music that I just said people are being sued for, for using without permission? Is that what you're doing?"

Cato replied, "Yeah, yeah."

As the band kept playing, Colbert quipped, "Oh no, I hope this doesn't cost CBS any money."

As The Daily Beast reported, Colbert may have gotten a bit of revenge with his ratings as well:

Stephen Colbert has gotten the last laugh over President Donald Trump.

Colbert’s final The Late Show episode on Thursday night was also his most-watched weeknight show ever, according to preliminary Nielsen data obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

The data shows that an estimated 6.74 million people tuned in to watch Colbert, 62, roast the 79-year-old president one last time in the final episode of his late-night talk show, which also featured celebrity appearances by Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows—plus a performance by Paul McCartney to close the show.

Shame on all of these Trump suck ups for taking him off the air. I hope he lands somewhere with just as large of an audience. Personally, I really miss his Colbert Report days on Comedy Central. I really enjoyed the satire a lot more than his move to replace Letterman on The Late Show.

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