Colbert’s Bold Move: From CBS to Local TV

Just 24 hours after ending his 11-year run on CBS, Stephen Colbert skipped the Hollywood farewell tour and showed up on a community access TV channel in Monroe, Michigan — and brought rock legend Jack White along for the ride.

Story Snapshot

One day after his final Late Show on CBS, Colbert guest-hosted “Only in Monroe,” a Monroe, Michigan public access program, on May 23, 2026.
Rock musician Jack White joined Colbert on the Monroe community access broadcast, drawing national attention to the small local outlet.
Colbert interviewed local hosts, discussed community topics including a local nonprofit grief support center, and made a FaceTime call to media mogul Byron Allen live on air.
The appearance marked Colbert’s return to Monroe Community Media, which he first visited in July 2015 — over 11 years earlier — when he also famously interviewed Eminem on the same public access show.

From CBS to Community Access in 24 Hours

Stephen Colbert wrapped up his final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS on Thursday, May 22, 2026, closing out an 11-year run on network television. Exactly 24 hours later, at 11:35 p.m. Friday, Colbert appeared on “Only in Monroe,” a public access television program broadcast out of Monroe, Michigan. The move was as unexpected as it was entertaining, and it instantly went viral across social media platforms.

Jack White, the Detroit-born rock musician best known as the frontman of The White Stripes, joined Colbert for the Monroe appearance, adding a Michigan-flavored celebrity punch to the local broadcast. The segment blended community updates, personal stories, and humor — the hallmark format of the low-budget but beloved local show. Monroe is a small city of roughly 20,000 residents situated between Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, and its community media outlet has operated since 1992 with a mission to empower local storytelling.

Local Roots, Real Community Stories

Colbert did not treat the Monroe appearance as a throwaway stunt. He interviewed the show’s original hosts, Michelle Bowman and Kaani Ray Rafco Wilson, engaging them on genuinely local topics. Bowman discussed her thyroid cancer treatment, while Wilson highlighted Gabby’s Grief Center, a Monroe-area nonprofit providing free grief support services to the community. Those segments gave the broadcast real civic substance beyond the celebrity novelty.

Colbert also made a live FaceTime call on air to Byron Allen, the media mogul and comedian, pitching the Monroe hosts as potential guest hosts for Allen’s program Comics Unleashed. Whether that pitch leads anywhere remains to be seen, but the moment captured the freewheeling, anything-goes spirit that makes community access television unique — and that no polished network show could replicate.

A Return Trip With History Behind It

This was not Colbert’s first visit to Monroe’s public access world. Back in July 2015, just before taking over David Letterman’s late-night desk at CBS, Colbert guest-hosted “Only in Monroe” and conducted a now-famous interview with rapper Eminem. That appearance earned widespread media coverage and demonstrated Colbert’s willingness to engage with grassroots, community-level media rather than only the corporate broadcast machine.

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Stephen Colbert

May 22, 2026: Just one day after ending his 11-year run on "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert returned to Monroe Public Access Cable Television – now Monroe Community Media 1 — to host "Only in Monroe."

Here is the full show…

— LeoQuantum Project (@LeoQuantumZaxes) May 23, 2026

The 2026 return carries a different kind of symbolism. After years of late-night television on a major network — a format that has increasingly struggled with shrinking audiences and shifting viewer habits — Colbert chose to mark the end of that chapter not with a splashy Hollywood special but with a return to Monroe’s humble community access studio. Whether that reflects genuine affection for the format, a savvy media move, or both, the result put a small Michigan city in the national spotlight and reminded audiences that local community media still has a pulse. For conservatives who have long criticized coastal media elites as disconnected from real America, there is something refreshingly grounded about a television personality choosing Monroe, Michigan over Manhattan for his post-network debut.