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Stephen Colbert<\/a> plays a parody of a late-night talk show host in the Elsbeth<\/a><\/em> Season 3 premiere, airing on Sunday, October 12, on CBS<\/a>. Carrie Preston<\/a> reveals to TV Insider that this episode was filmed one week after\u00a0The Late Show\u00a0<\/em>was abruptly canceled<\/a>, which raised concerns about whether Colbert would even be allowed to guest star on the CBS procedural.<\/p>\n Colbert\u2019s casting was already locked in when\u00a0The Late Show<\/em><\/a> was canceled on July 17<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor months and months, the producers and the writers had been looking to get him on the show,\u201d Preston tells TV Insider. \u201cAnd then [Jonathan] Tolins, our showrunner, he specifically wrote this episode for Steven Colbert, and then it just happened to be that they announced his show was ending right before he came to do the episode.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert\u2019s Elsbeth<\/em> episode was written before\u00a0The Late Show<\/em> cancellation, Preston confirms, and no changes were made to the script after. She says that the cancellation was announced one week before Colbert was to start filming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe script was ready to go. This happened the week before,\u201d Preston explains. \u201cAs a matter of fact, we were worried that he might not be able to come and do the episode at the last minute because he was dealing with a lot of stuff, but he was very true to his word and his commitment, and he showed up and he was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Colbert guest stars as the host of a fictional late-night talk show called Way Late With Scotty Bristol<\/em> in the\u00a0Elsbeth<\/em> Season 3<\/a> premiere. Amy Sedaris<\/a> and Andy Richter<\/a> costar as the married couple who serve as Scotty\u2019s head writer and show sidekick. Get your first look at Colbert, Sedaris, Richter, and more guest stars in the Elsbeth<\/em> Season 3 trailer here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colbert\u2019s final\u00a0Late Show<\/em> airs in May 2026. CBS has maintained that the reason for the show\u2019s shocking cancellation was purely financial, but there\u2019s a public consensus that CBS axed the show to capitulate to President Donald Trump<\/a>, as CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount Global, was hoping for the FCC to approve its merger with Skydance. The merger was approved on July 28.<\/p>\n