Inside Stephen Colbert’s post-‘Late Show’ plans as talk show comes to a close

Stephen Colbert has big family plans after saying goodbye to his talk show.

The comedian recently told People he is “going to [his] brother’s wedding in Washington D.C.” right after wrapping “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

The comedian, who filmed the final episode Thursday night, explained, “My [eight] brothers and sisters and [their] husbands and wives are coming to the last show, and then we’re all getting on the train the next day.”

After the nuptials, Colbert will work on co-writing “The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past.”

News broke in March that Colbert, 62, is writing the new movie set in the fantasy world. 

Colbert has “been thinking about” the film for years, he told People.

“I’ve been working on it with my son since COVID actually, and then working on it with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh for almost two years now,” he added. “So that wasn’t a post-show idea.”

As for other plans, Colbert is open to whatever comes his way, simply telling People, “I’m available.”

“We’ll land this plane,” he said, referring to ending the show, “and we’ll check out the view from there.” 

Colbert announced the long-running series’ cancellation in July 2025 after 33 years on air. 

The comedian, notably, succeeded David Letterman, who hosted it from 1993 to 2015.

When the audience booed in response to the cancellation news last year, Colbert quipped, “Yeah, I share your feelings. It isn’t just the end of our show but the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

CBS canceled the series as a “purely financial decision,” the network claimed to Variety at the time, adding that it was, “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” 

On Thursday evening’s final show, the host brought out surprise guests including Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Ryan Reynolds and Paul McCartney. 

His fellow late-night hosts — Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver — also made appearances to send Colbert off.

During Colbert’s final monologue, he addressed the live audience inside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City. 

“I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other,” he gushed. “We’ve had so much fun in this theater.”

In the “first draft” of Colbert’s goodbye card, he jokingly asked, “How do you start an OnlyFans?”