Stephen Colbert did not stay off the airwaves for long. Just 23 hours after his 33-year late-night tenure was unceremoniously shut down by CBS, Colbert reappeared on television Friday night. He took over hosting duties for the Michigan community-access program “Only in Monroe.” The stealth broadcast arrived at the end of a chaotic week for the comedian, whose flagship show was canceled under the guise of an $8.4 billion Paramount-Skydance merger, though critics widely suspect the network caved to President Donald Trump’s FCC license threats.
The public access episode aired on Friday evening, May 22, 2026, featuring an absurdly stacked roster for local Monroe television. Musician Jack White served as the “volunteer music director,” while actor Jeff Daniels sat down for an interview. The broadcast even squeezed in pre-recorded cameos from Eminem, Steve Buscemi, and comedian Byron Allen, the man slated to replace Colbert in the vacated CBS timeslot.
Opening the local Michigan program, Colbert immediately addressed the elephant in the room. He told the audience it had been an “excruciating 23 hours without being on TV.” He then took a direct shot at his former employer, joking that he was grateful to be on Monroe Community Media “before they also get acquired by Paramount.”
The move was a deliberate, full-circle callback to his own career trajectory, according to a report by The Guardian detailing the broadcast and Trump’s reaction. Back in the summer of 2015, Colbert guest-hosted an episode of “Only in Monroe” as a warm-up exercise right before taking over for David Letterman.
Unsurprisingly, the stunt drew immediate political attention. On Friday night, Donald Trump reacted to Colbert’s network exit by posting an AI-generated video of himself throwing the comedian into a dumpster. Colbert has not yet publicly addressed the president’s video.