Stephen Colbert returned to the airwaves on Friday, hosting a late-night program, but it was a little different from CBS's 'Late Show.' Just 24 hours after Colbert's final episode at the Ed Sullivan Theater, he popped up as a guest host on 'Only in Monroe,' a public access program based in Monroe, Michigan. The comedian is no stranger to the local show — he also once stepped in as a guest host in July 2015, after the nine-year run of 'The Colbert Report' had concluded and before he began hosting 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.'
Colbert opened the program on Friday with a jab at Paramount, the corporate owner of CBS, now led by President Donald Trump ally David Ellison. 'It's been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount,' he said.
Paramount canceled 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' just days after the comedian harshly criticized the company over a $16 million legal settlement with Trump, though CBS has claimed the decision to end the talk show was 'purely' financial.
During his Friday hosting stint, he interviewed the program's usual hosts, Kaye Lani Wilson and Michelle Baumann. He also had a slew of celebrity guest appearances, including 'White Stripes' frontman and vocal Trump critic Jack White as 'volunteer musical director.'
Though Colbert's return to 'Only in Monroe' was a surprise to many, he had hinted at it in his final 'Late Show' monologue on Thursday. 'Technically, our first show back in July of 2015 was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, for an audience of 12 people,' he said. 'And show business being what it is these days, it's probably where you'll see me next.'
