Stephen Colbert Update (Sept. 2026): The Beard Came Off on Kimmel, and No New Show Was Announced
Quick answer: Stephen Colbert has no new show. The Late Show ended May 21, 2026 and CBS retired the franchise rather than replacing him. He won seven Emmys for it in September, shaved the beard on Kimmel on Sept. 15, and as of Tuesday, Nov. 3 no new show has been announced. Sixteen months of it, in the order it happened:
Colbert's 2026 Emmy count
| Award | Ceremony |
|---|---|
| Outstanding Variety Series — The Late Show | Primetime, Sept. 14 |
| Writing, directing, technical direction, lighting design, picture editing (five) | Creative Arts, Sept. 5–6 |
| Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series — Colbert Before Air | Creative Arts |
| Total | Seven |
The 78th Emmy Awards aired Sept. 14 on NBC from Los Angeles with Mariska Hargitay hosting. Our sister site covered the carpet and how to stream it.
What has happened to Stephen Colbert, in order?
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| July 2025 | CBS says The Late Show will end in May 2026, retiring the franchise rather than replacing the host |
| March 2026 | Peter Jackson and Colbert announce Colbert is co-writing a new Lord of the Rings film |
| May 21, 2026 | Series finale airs on CBS — 11 seasons for Colbert, 33 years for the Late Show name |
| Sept. 5–6, 2026 | Creative Arts Emmys: the cancelled show wins five |
| Mon., Sept. 14, 2026 | 78th Emmy Awards on NBC — The Late Show beats Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight and SNL for Outstanding Variety Series, its first win in the category |
| Tue., Sept. 15, 2026 | Colbert returns to late night as Kimmel's only sit-down guest on ABC — shaves the beard on air, hands Kimmel the Captain America shield from his old set |
| Wed., Sept. 16, 2026 | Still no new show, network or date announced |
The Tuesday row is the one people came here for, and it has now happened. Four months after his last CBS episode, Colbert spent an hour in somebody else's guest chair, clean-shaven by the end of it, and left without announcing a job.
What follows is the whole run in order, then the parts of Tuesday worth knowing if you missed the broadcast.
What happened when Stephen Colbert went on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
Three things, in the order Kimmel staged them: the Emmy, the beard and the shield. Colbert was the only sit-down guest, which on this show usually signals a booking the staff wants room for.
The beard was a bet. Colbert had grown one after May and told his wife, Evie McGee-Colbert, that he would take it off if the show won Outstanding Variety Series — so it came off on air, with Kimmel holding a labelled jar for the clippings. He then gave Kimmel the replica Captain America shield that hung on his set from The Colbert Report onward, and Kimmel put it up on his own wall.
On whether he misses the daily news grind, Colbert's answer was flat: I have an opportunity to not think about the news every day, and I took it.
Reporters at the taping noted the president's name never came up in the hour, which is its own kind of headline for a host whose monologue ran on it for a decade.
The episode aired at the usual ABC late-night hour and is on Hulu from Wednesday morning.
| Zone | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | 11:35 p.m. Tue. | ABC |
| Central | 10:35 p.m. Tue. | ABC |
| Mountain | 11:35 p.m. Tue. | ABC |
| Pacific | 11:35 p.m. Tue. | ABC |
| Now | From Wed. morning | Hulu, plus clips on the show's YouTube channel |
LateNighter, which reported the booking first, counted it as Colbert's sixth visit to Kimmel's show, after stops in 2004, 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2025. The rest of that night's board is on this week's lineup page, and the running nightly rundowns sit under late night.
What is Stephen Colbert doing now?
Writing, mostly. In March he and Peter Jackson said Colbert is co-writing a new Lord of the Rings film, tentatively called The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, with Rings veteran Philippa Boyens and Colbert's son.
Jackson later told Variety that Colbert pitched the idea before CBS cancelled the show, and that the two had already spent about a year on it. So the project is not a landing spot he scrambled for in May — it predates the news.
In October, Jackson told the Spanish outlet Fotogramas at the Sitges Film Festival that the film is in the scriptwriting stage, as ComicBasics reported on Oct. 21 and Winter Is Coming on Oct. 23.
Reporting from Sept. 10 says he is weighing new offers on the television side. As of Tuesday, Nov. 3 we found no report of a signed, announced or dated deal, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
How many Emmys did The Late Show win in 2026?
Six for the series, seven counting Colbert's digital show. The headline one is Outstanding Variety Series — the first time The Late Show had ever taken it, in the season CBS cancelled.
The timing is the part that will get retold. On Monday the two men were rivals in the same category; on Tuesday one was the other's guest, and the loser was holding the razor.
The Television Academy merged the talk and scripted-variety races this year, so one category held The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live. Five shows, one trophy, and it went to the only one that no longer exists. Our results page for the variety series race has the full field and the losing four.
Is Stephen Colbert getting another talk show?
No announcement, no network, no date. CBS did not hand The Late Show to a new host; it retired the title and rebuilt the hour with different programming, which is why there is no obvious slot waiting for him.
Streaming and podcasting are the routes people keep floating, and neither has produced a signed deal that anyone has confirmed. Tuesday was the obvious moment to break news of one and he did not: no network, no platform, no date came up in the hour, and none of the outlets at the taping reported one afterwards.
Checked again Tuesday, Sept. 22: still nothing. A week after the Kimmel hour, no network, streamer or podcast deal has been announced, and Colbert's own answer on the subject was a joke rather than a tease — asked about coming back to late night, he said the Jimmys have that locked down for now.
Checked again Tuesday, Nov. 3: still nothing. A news search for Colbert covering Sept. 22 through Nov. 3 turned up no announcement of a network, streaming or podcast show.
What he did describe was a writing schedule. LateNighter reported he has been working in New Zealand on the Rings script with his son, and told a story about being pulled over for speeding there — the sort of thing a man with a day job does not have time to do. We update this page whenever a deal is actually announced.
What is on in that hour instead?
The 11:35 p.m. hour now runs Kimmel on ABC and Fallon on NBC, with The Daily Show at 11 on Comedy Central. Seth Meyers came back from hiatus on Sept. 21, so all four weeknight desks are making new episodes again for the first time since July. The current grid, channel by channel and zone by zone, lives in our 2026 late-night schedule.
Two habits worth knowing if you are new to the hour. Weeknight hosts only tape Monday through Thursday now, so Fridays are reruns, and every one of these shows streams the next day, which is the cheapest way to keep up without a cable box.
Quick questions
Did Stephen Colbert quit? No. CBS ended the show; he finished the run.
What was the last episode? May 21, 2026, with Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Batiste among the sendoff.
Can I still stream old episodes? Clips stay up on the show's YouTube channel, which is where the finale video above comes from.
Did Colbert really shave his beard on TV? Yes, during the Sept. 15 Jimmy Kimmel Live, settling a bet with his wife that hung on the Emmy.
Did he announce a new show on Kimmel? No. Nothing was announced, and as of Tuesday, Nov. 3 nothing has been since.
Where can I watch the interview? Hulu from Wednesday morning, or the clip above from Kimmel's own YouTube channel.
Who hosted the Emmys? Mariska Hargitay, on Sept. 14.
Who is on each night of the week of Sept. 28 is on the Sept. 28–Oct. 2 lineup board; the morning shows have their own daytime schedule. Everything evergreen we have written is filed under guide.
Sources · Listings data via TVmaze · LateNighter — Colbert's first post-Late Show appearance · TV Insider — Colbert returning as Kimmel guest · 78th Primetime Emmy Awards — date, host, nominees, Creative Arts wins · Variety — Jackson on when Colbert pitched the film · CBC — Colbert co-writing with his son · LateNighter — inside the Sept. 15 appearance · The Hollywood Reporter — Emmy talk and the shave · Rolling Stone — the beard bet on air · Jimmy Kimmel Live (official) — Colbert on the Emmys, the beard and the shield · ComicBasics — Jackson on the script's status · Winter Is Coming — Jackson on the film's status