LEILA FADEL, HOST:
"The Late Show" on CBS is over. The final episode aired Thursday night after more than 1,800 hosted by Stephen Colbert. He spoke directly to the audience about the importance of keeping an upbeat attitude in a moment like this.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
STEPHEN COLBERT: We call this show the joy machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine.
LOUIS CATO: Yeah.
COLBERT: But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn't hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears.
FADEL: NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans stayed up late watching...
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: (Laughter).
FADEL: ...And got up early for us and is with me now in this studio. Hi, Eric.
DEGGANS: I cannot believe I am awake and lucid...
FADEL: (Laughter) Well, I definitely didn't stay up to watch.
DEGGANS: ...After two hours of sleep. That's how much I love you guys. So...
FADEL: Well, thank you for doing it. So this was a finale that people have anticipated for months since CBS canceled the show last year. How did he do?
DEGGANS: You know, in the end, I think Colbert offered a show that was a tribute to all the things he did best on "The Late Show," from silly comedy bits to earnest connections with the audience, lots of music, and an emotional recognition of the show's place in late-night history. Now, he found a really novel way to sneak in a ton of celebrity cameos with this running gag over who would get to be the big mystery guest. And in the end, it wasn't the pope, as was rumored, but Paul McCartney. And, you know, if you can't get the pope, why not get a Beatle?
FADEL: Yeah.
DEGGANS: So McCartney talked about playing in that space, the Ed Sullivan Theater, 62 years earlier with The Beatles.
FADEL: Did Colbert talk about CBS' decision to cancel him?
DEGGANS: Not really. You know, Colbert's kind of avoided anger and blame as much as possible in this final run of episodes. And last night's show kind of focused on celebration and this kind of rueful sentimentality. You know, after interviewing McCartney, they transitioned into this ambitious pretaped comedy bit, where a green wormhole opened up backstage featuring one of Colbert's favorite guests - scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Let's listen to this clip from CBS.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Your cancellation has created a rift in the comedy variety talk continuum. And if it grows, all of late-night television could be destroyed.
DEGGANS: Yeah.
FADEL: (Laughter).
DEGGANS: So, you know, eventually, the wormhole, like, swallowed up the entire show. So, you know, if there's one consolation for Colbert, it's that the special effects for that sequence probably cost CBS a little extra money.
FADEL: Now, music has always been an important part of Colbert's late show. What about last night?
DEGGANS: I think music provided the most poignant moments in this finale. I mean, after that wormhole bit, you know, Colbert joined Elvis Costello, bandleader Louis Cato, former bandleader Jon Batiste in this pretaped performance of one of Costello's tunes called "Jump Up." And then when that finished, they transitioned back to the theater to feature McCartney with Colbert, Costello, Batiste and the show's backing band singing The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye." And here we have a little clip of that from the show last night.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) You say goodbye, but I say hello. Hello, hello.
DEGGANS: And, you know, this led to a finish where McCartney pulled a lever, and the Ed Sullivan Theater kind of shrunk down to fit inside a snow globe. It was a surprisingly moving finale.
FADEL: What do you think it said about Colbert and "The Late Show's" place in TV history?
DEGGANS: Well, you know, Colbert has always been a singular host, and he's turned "The Late Show" into this irreverent, fun vehicle to dissect the events of the day and connect with his audience. And this finale touched all those bases. It just reminded us how much history CBS is walking away from in this cancellation while allowing all of us to savor it one more time.
FADEL: That's NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans, who got no sleep so he could be here to tell us about this finale. Thank you, Eric.
DEGGANS: Yeah. I think I'm going to bed right after this.
FADEL: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF THE APPLES IN STEREO SONG, "STEPHEN, STEPHEN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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