“We gotta get our s--- out of here. No one’s got a job after that night,” Colbert said.

Stephen Colbert says he and Late Show staff ‘all have to be out’ immediately after final show: ‘I’m already packed’

"We gotta get our s--- out of here. No one's got a job after that night," Colbert said.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

May 13, 2026 9:36 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show'. Credit:

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

- Stephen Colbert revealed the timeline for "cleaning out the office" of *The Late Show*.

- "I've already packed my office," the comedian said.

- Other late-night hosts compared the staff's quick exit from the studio to the end of David Letterman's *Late Show* tenure.

Stephen Colbert already has one foot out the door of *The Late Show*'s studio.

During a roundtable conversation with fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver on *Strike Force Five*, the comedian discussed the logistics of his exit from the Ed Sullivan Theater after the talk show airs its final episode on May 21.

Colbert explained that after he returns from celebrating his brother's wedding on May 23, he and his entire staff will have to vacate the office.

"[When] we come back, I'm cleaning out the office," Colbert said. "We gotta get our s--- out of here. No one's got a job after that night [of the last episode]. I think the next day, everyone's fired."

Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show'.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty

Colbert noted that "maybe the crew has some time to clear out, like the studio," but insisted that "the staff all has to be gone."

"I think the set has longer, or the crew has time to wrap," he said. "But I think they're gonna start tearing s--- out immediately. I know my staff is not paid the next day. They're out."

** has reached out to a representative for CBS for comment.

Colbert's personal belongings are already accounted for. "I'm packed. I'm already packed," he said. "I've already packed my office."

He also noted, "We all have to be out by the next Friday," in reference to May 29.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus reveals why kissing Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show' was 'so awkward': 'We were all just dying'

Stephen Colbert name-drops the 'Late Show' guest who distracted him with their beauty

The other late-night hosts were surprised to hear how quickly Colbert is expected to leave the premises, though Fallon noted that the quick turnaround sounded familiar.

"That was the same with [David] Letterman, too, right?" the *Tonight Show* host asked. "'Cause he tells that story."

Oliver added, "They threw his s--- outside!"

Colbert confirmed, "Yeah, Letterman, literally the next day, they threw his set out."

"He left, he went outside and saw stuff going in the dumpster from his set," Fallon said.

Meyers joked, "Well, it's cool they learned a lesson from that."

David Letterman on 'The Late Show'.

John Paul Filo/CBS via Getty

Indeed, Letterman, who hosted *The Late Show* for 23 seasons prior to Colbert's tenure, said that the remnants of his set were already on the street within a day of the show's conclusion in 2015.

"The band had barely quit playing and they dismantled the set and there were dumpsters on 53rd Street, and as I walked out of the building, I saw the detritus and the debris of my life at CBS being tossed into the dumpster," Letterman told *The New York Times* earlier this year. "Now, that’s not a pleasant memory."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Several outlets including NPR, E! News, and the *New York Post* reported that Letterman's set had been trashed the day after his final episode.

In July, CBS announced that *The Late Show* would end after its current season, claiming that the discontinuation of the talk show was "purely a financial" move.

Colbert previously announced that *The Late Show* has established an auction of items from the set. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to charity.

*The Late Show With Stephen Colbert* will air its final episode on May 21. You can watch the full *Strike Force Five* conversation above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Late”