Stephen Colbert reunited with four fellow late-night hosts during one of his final episodes of The Late Show on May 12, 2026 [1].
The appearance marks a rare televised gathering of the industry's most prominent satirists as Colbert prepares to exit his role. The event served as a promotional vehicle for a Strike Force Five special intended to support the writers' strike [5].
The reunion took place at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City [2]. Colbert was joined by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver [3]. The group of five hosts appeared together to commemorate Colbert's tenure and the collaborative effort of their collective project [3, 4].
During the segment, the hosts exchanged jokes about their professional legacies and the nature of late-night television. “It’s an honor to share the stage with Stephen one last time,” Kimmel said [6].
Other hosts highlighted the camaraderie between the competing programs. “We’ve all been waiting for this moment,” Oliver said [7]. Meyers said that Colbert could host any of their shows and still make it great [8].
The event coincided with the final stretch of Colbert's time at the helm of the program. The Strike Force Five initiative originally formed to maintain a voice for labor during industry disruptions, a theme that remained central to the reunion's purpose [5].
““It’s an honor to share the stage with Stephen one last time,” Jimmy Kimmel said.”
The gathering of these five hosts represents a symbolic end to a specific era of late-night satire. By tying the reunion to the Strike Force Five project, the hosts leveraged a high-profile career milestone to maintain visibility for labor rights and the writers' strike, signaling that the industry's top talent remains aligned on collective bargaining issues even as individual tenures end.
