On May 21, as Stephen Colbert hosts his final night behind the desk, Jimmy Kimmel will quietly honor the late-night titan by airing a rerun on his own show instead of competing for attention. CBS canceled The Late Show in July 2025, citing financial pressures and the changing television landscape. Of course, running for 33 years now, Colbert is commanding honor.

That decision now appears even more meaningful as ABC confirms Jimmy Kimmel Live! will air a rerun on May 21 during Stephen Colbert’s final night hosting The Late Show. Fresh episodes will still run Monday through Wednesday, but Jimmy Kimmel deliberately cleared the lane for the farewell broadcast. LateNighter reported the move was made out of deference to Colbert’s sendoff.

The gesture also echoes a notable moment from late-night history. Back in 2015, Jimmy Kimmel similarly aired a rerun during David Letterman’s final broadcast of The Late Show, allowing the longtime host an uninterrupted goodbye.

The scheduling news arrives just before a major reunion episode on May 11. Stephen Colbert will welcome Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver to The Late Show, reuniting the group behind Strike Force Five. The podcast famously launched during the 2023 Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes, with proceeds supporting crew members left unpaid during the industry shutdown.

David Letterman’s return on May 14 adds another sentimental flourish to the farewell procession. The final guest slate includes John Krasinski, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pedro Pascal, and Tom Hanks, which resembles the seating chart at an unusually expensive charity gala. Barack Obama, Broadway performers, and The Strokes will also appear before the Ed Sullivan Theater finally lowers the curtain on The Late Show.

Stephen Colbert’s farewell has become both sentimental and strategic, with Jimmy Kimmel’s rerun serving as a quiet salute to their friendship.

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert's friendship

Unlike the famously icy rivalries that once defined late-night television, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert spent the past decade building a friendship that often felt more fraternal than competitive. That closeness became especially visible in September 2025, when both hosts appeared on each other’s programs simultaneously during an unusually emotional television crossover.

The friendship has always carried a faintly absurd charm. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert share agent James 'Baby Doll' Dixon, a man they have repeatedly treated like the crowned monarch of American late-night, complete with custom portraits and affectionate praise as per The Late Show. Against that backdrop, the rerun on Stephen Colbert’s final evening feels less like a scheduling strategy and more like one comedian quietly dimming the marquee for another.

What do you think of Jimmy Kimmel's rerun? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Iffat Siddiqui

Edited by

Adiba Nizami