Stephen Colbert, whose The Late Show on CBS is set to end in May 2026, will guest-star as a late-night host in a Season 3 episode of the CBS dramedy Elsbeth, a Good Wife spinoff featuring Carrie Preston as an attorney and amateur detective, sources confirm.
Vulture first reported the news, and CBS declined to comment.
Colbert’s cameo follows the controversial cancellation of The Late Show, announced on July 17, which some claim was influenced by his criticism of President Donald Trump.
Notably, during a February interview on The Late Show with Elsbeth star Wendell Pierce, Colbert expressed interest in appearing on the show, humorously requesting to play a corpse “found behind a pile of lettuce boxes.”
Pierce promised to make it happen. The guest role marks a notable transition for the 61-year-old comedian as his late-night tenure winds down.
Colbert has not said what he might do next after "The Late Show." But while interviewing comedians Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers late last month, he alluded to the possibility of starting his own podcast. Colbert said to Yang and Rogers, the hosts of "Las Culturistas," "I'm going to need a gig soon, so sell me on podcasting. Is it fun?"