Stephen Colbert bid farewell to CBS's "The Late Show" on Friday with an 80-minute star-studded finale in New York.
The network decided to cancel the long-running program for financial reasons.
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The final episode featured appearances by Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Bryan Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, and Jon Stewart.
CBS has rented out the 11:35 PM time slot to Byron Allen's syndicated show "Comics Unleashed."
During the opening segment, Colbert addressed the audience directly, expressing gratitude for their partnership throughout the show's run.
"Doing the show with you," he said.
The finale included a running gag with various celebrities pretending to be the unannounced final guest before McCartney appeared at the refurbished Ed Sullivan Theater.
A pre-recorded segment featured late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver discussing the television landscape.
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Prior to the broadcast, Kimmel publicly shared his thoughts on the cancellation, saying, "Don't ever watch it again."
The program concluded with Colbert performing an obscure B-side demo track titled "Jump Up" alongside Elvis Costello.
Colbert had previously expressed his admiration for the song during a radio interview 14 years earlier.
"I love the song because it's sort of a satirical song … I've always loved that line 'it's a two-horse race, and he changes bets like it was another brand of cigarettes,'" Colbert said.
He noted that before he did political satire, he found it interesting that people flip between two choices as if it doesn't matter.
After the performance, McCartney rejoined Colbert and Costello on stage to lead the studio audience in a rendition of "Hello, Goodbye."
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The host and the former Beatle then turned off the theater lights.
