Colbert Launches YouTube Channel After Late Show Exit

Stephen Colbert launched a YouTube channel less than a week after his final episode of 'The Late Show.' The channel quickly amassed over 120,000 subscribers. His first video featured a surprise appearance on 'Only In Monroe', a local community access show in Michigan, just one day after his late-night show's finale.

The comedian hosted the show on Friday night, where he was joined by Michigan native Jack White as his 'volunteer music director,' and actor Jeff Daniels. Special appearances included Steve Buscemi and rapper Eminem. Colbert's appearance leaned heavily into self-aware humor about scale and spectacle. He joked about how little time had passed since leaving network television, framing the return as a kind of immediate re-entry into a different corner of the media ecosystem rather than a true departure.

Colbert quipped, 'It's been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount,' according to The Guardian. The hour-long appearance was uploaded to his new YouTube channel, titled 'Only In Monroe --- May 22, 2026.'

CBS announced last July that it would end 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' and retire the franchise at the end of this season, citing purely financial reasons. The show reportedly lost $40 million annually for CBS. However, some viewers and media critics questioned whether political motives were involved due to Colbert's outspoken criticism of President Trump.

Colbert's farewell episode aired Thursday night, with Sir Paul McCartney as his final guest. By Friday night, he was appearing on local public access television in Monroe County, Michigan. CBS initially attempted to limit reposting of Colbert's parody appearance but later backed down after public backlash. The network sent copyright protection notices to unauthorized websites that posted the content, but after outcry, they decided to waive further enforcement for this episode according to Daily Mail.

The 'Only in Monroe' episode was broadcast in southeast Michigan and also published to Colbert's official YouTube page. News of Colbert’s surprise late-night spot spread online, with social media users reposting the episode in its entirety or sharing clips. Journalist Matthew Keys shared the episode on his X (formerly Twitter) page, tweeting that he received a 'frivolous' copyright notice from Paramount Global according to Los Angeles Times. Colbert's guests included regular hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, Emmy winners Jeff Daniels and Steve Buscemi, rapper Eminem (via video call), and White Stripes rocker Jack White. The broadcast ended with Colbert, Daniels, and White taking hammers to the talk show set and setting it ablaze.

Donald Trump prematurely took a victory lap to celebrate Stephen Colbert’s ouster from CBS. On Friday, the president posted an artificial intelligence-generated video from the official White House account featuring Trump grabbing Colbert from his late-show set and throwing him into a large dumpster while dancing to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

'Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!'

One single bootleg upload by independent journalist Matthew Keys amassed well over 600,000 views in a matter of hours. Over the weekend, Paramount began mass-blocking every single reupload of the 'Only In Monroe' episode worldwide.