All the celebrity cameos from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finale, including Ryan Reynolds

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its final episode after over three decades on Thursday, May 21.

The 62-year-old comedian delivered his final monologue as host of The Late Show, which he took over from David Letterman in 2015. Last July, CBS announced that The Late Show would be canceled, sparking rumors that Donald Trump may have influenced the network’s decision amid Paramount’s merger with Skydance.

While the list of guest appearances and performers was kept secret before the episode aired, Stephen welcomed a number of A-listers, including Paul McCartney, Bryan Cranston, and Ryan Reynolds. During the broadcast, Stephen broke with tradition, opening the show with an emotional monologue addressed to viewers.

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The final episode of The Late Show featured a star-studded cast of celebrity cameos in a running bit about who gets to be Stephen’s final guest.

While Stephen’s dream guest, Pope Leo, did not make an appearance, several A-list stars showed up to the historic Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City to commemorate the long-running late night show’s final sendoff.

Stephen’s last show kicked off with a few celebrity candidates for The Late Show’s final guest.

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, actor Paul Rudd, and former SNL castmember Tim Meadows pleaded their case to be the final guest, while comedian Tig Notaro played it cool, joking, “This is your last show?” when Stephen thanked her for supporting him by attending.

Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds made an appearance in the audience, keeping the bit running, before The Beatles’ Paul McCartney came out for a sit-down interview with Stephen.

During the conversation, the 83-year-old rock legend recalled making their historic first live US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 at the same theater The Late Show has taped in since 1993. Paul gifted Stephen a signed photograph of the group as a parting gift.

Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joined Stephen during one science-themed bit, in which he explained, “Two contradictory realities cannot coexist without rupturing the space/time continuum,” to which Stephen asked, “Like what?”

The 67-year-old scientist cheekily replied, “Well, for instance, if a show is number one on late night and it also gets canceled.” Neil playfully warned, “Your cancellation has created a rift in the comedy/variety/talk continuum, and if it grows, all of late night television could be destroyed.”

Comedian Jon Stewart, who was the special guest on May 20, also made an appearance in the skit, joking that the show was cancelled because Stephen was “stealing printer cartridges

Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver, also known as Strike Force Five, made a cameo during the last show, and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearances from Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood and Bravo’s Andy Cohen.

To close out the show, Stephen was joined by musicians Elvis Costello, Louis Cato, John Batiste, and Paul McCartney for a live rendition of The Beatles’ song Hello, Goodbye.

The series finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired on Thursday, May 21 and is available to stream on Paramount+.

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