Curse all those adoring celebrities, spoiling Stephen Colbert’s hopes for a low-key farewell!
As he opened the final episode of his “Late Show” on CBS Thursday night, the host said he’d decided against a farewell extravaganza in favor of “a regular episode where I come out here and talk about the national conversation.”
But he was barely into his first joke when “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston interrupted from the Ed Sullivan Theater seats to offer to make a surprise celebrity cameo. “No, Bryan, those always seem kinda forced,” Colbert said to the Emmy winner, who stormed out in a fake huff.
Subsequent audience outbursts by Paul Rudd and Colbert’s old Second City friend Tim Meadows didn’t get in the way of the regular monologue the host promised, complete with jokes about New York sinkholes and the White House’s hantavirus chief.
Big-name bits aside, the opening largely was as the former Chicago improv actor promised: subdued and typical of the routine established since his debut in 2015.
There was a switch-up in the “cold opening” before the opening credits: two segments instead of just the usual single topical comedy sketch. First, Colbert addressed both home and live audiences to give sincere thanks to his staff and his viewers.
A montage followed of great TV hosts of the past dating back to Jack Benny and Steve Allen, their snippets of dialogue forming a silly sendoff.
This story originally appeared in Chicago Sun-Times.
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