The most striking moments from Stephen Colbert’s last show

• Stephen Colbert's time with "The Late Show" is over.
• The show aired its final episode on Thursday night, bringing its over three-decade run to an end.
• His last episode featured celebrity cameos, shots fired at CBS, and a Paul McCartney-sung farewell song.

Stephen Colbert has taken his final bow.

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" aired its final episode on Thursday, ending its more than three-decade run since David Letterman started the show in 1993. Letterman passed the baton to Colbert in 2015.

In a short clip before the episode began, Colbert said it had been a joy to do over 1,800 episodes of the show, and gave a shout-out to his band, "The Great Big Joy Machine."

"We called it the joy machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine," he said. "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."

CBS announced last July that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" would not be renewed for another season, saying the decision to cancel the show was "purely financial."

But it came after the host joked on his show about CBS paying President Donald Trump a $16 million settlement, after Trump sued CBS for what he said was "deceptive editing" in a "60 Minutes" episode.

Here are the four most striking moments from Colbert's swan song.

A loud round of "boos" in the monologue

"Welcome one and all to the Late Show. I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. If you're just tuning into the Late Show, you missed a lot," he said at the start of the episode, drawing laughs from the crowd.

But as soon as he said, "Tonight is our final broadcast from the Ed Sullivan theater," the crowd erupted into a round of booing.

He quietened the crowd, saying he was lucky to have been there for 11 years.

Full of celebrity cameos

Thursday's episode was full of celebrity cameos, hidden among the audience.

Comedian and actor Bryan Cranston appeared first, joking during Colbert's opening monologue that he was upset not to be one of the show's final guests.

Actor Paul Rudd then interrupted the monologue to offer Colbert six bananas as a retirement gift, followed by a cut to actor and comedian Tim Meadows.

Comedian Tig Notaro, seated in the audience, said she wanted to witness a "historic event." Actor Ryan Reynolds then appeared, also carrying bananas as a retirement gift.

His final interview was with British musician Paul McCartney, who gave Colbert a signed photo of The Beatles performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964, which was hosted at the same venue as the "Late Show."

During a sci-fi-themed segment in which a "wormhole" opened up backstage, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson made a cameo appearance.

Last on the list were his late-night colleagues, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers.

Some snarky shots were fired at CBS

Colbert used his last show to let fly with some zingers at the network that canceled his show.

Referring to a marine mammal foundation in his hometown in South Carolina that had offered him a job, he joked that he wondered whether the dolphins knew he had been canceled.

He then played a video of a dolphin whistling, captioned: "It was a purely financial decision."

Later, his band played the "Peanuts" song "Linus and Lucy" after Colbert said the song's owner had accused the US government of illegally using it.

"I hope this doesn't cost CBS any money," he joked.

A final bow

At the end of the episode, as McCartney performed The Beatles' 1967 hit "Hello, Goodbye," Colbert's wife and family ran onstage, followed by his entire production crew.

Support for Colbert has poured in from the biggest names in show business and politics, including former US President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as actor Mark Ruffalo.

"There aren't many who can make people think and laugh at the same time. For years, Stephen brought wit, heart, and honesty to late night television," Biden wrote in a Thursday X post.

"America could always count on a laugh — and sometimes a needed reality check. Congrats on an incredible run, my friend," he added.

The next thing on Colbert's schedule is co-writing a new "Lord of the Rings" movie with his son, Peter. He's also hinted at next steps in show business, but hasn't revealed any specific plans.

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