NEW YORK — In a fittingly chaotic farewell to a 33-year late-night institution, Stephen Colbert and David Letterman climbed to the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday and hurled guest chairs, a desk seat and other set pieces onto the giant CBS logo below, capping Letterman's emotional return to the show exactly one week before its final episode on May 21, 2026.

The stunt, broadcast during Thursday's episode, blended slapstick comedy with poignant symbolism as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert enters its last week. After CBS announced the cancellation last year amid financial pressures, the landmark theater that housed both Letterman's and Colbert's versions of the program is preparing for an uncertain future.

Letterman, 79, made his long-awaited return to the Ed Sullivan stage on May 14 as Colbert's guest. The two hosts, who bookended the modern Late Show era, shared laughs, reflections and a clear sense of closure. Their rooftop antics Thursday turned nostalgia into spectacle, with watermelons and a cake joining the furniture in dramatic descents onto the network's iconic eye logo.

"I never did it, but we're at the end here, so all bets are off," Letterman quipped before launching items, according to accounts of the segment.

A Full-Circle Moment for Late Night

Letterman hosted Late Show from 1993 until handing the reins to Colbert in 2015. His return Thursday marked the first time he had appeared on the program........

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