Colbert's Swan Song Will Be Extra Long

Stephen Colbert's long goodbye to late night won't fit in the usual one-hour box. CBS is billing Thursday's broadcast as an "extended Late Show series finale," though it hasn't said just how long it will run—or who will join Colbert onstage for his last bow from the Ed Sullivan Theater. The network has teased guests all week, including Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne, and Bruce Springsteen, but is keeping the finale lineup under wraps, reports Entertainment Weekly. There is precedent for an extended farewell, notes LateNighter, with David Letterman running an unplanned 17 minutes over on his final episode of the Late Show.

Colbert, for his part, has promised a no-holds-barred final stretch and has already tossed furniture off the theater roof with Letterman. Rival hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon will sit Thursday out, airing reruns so Colbert's finale faces no late-night competition. The taping will be followed by a nearby wrap party branded "Fired & Festive!" as Colbert exits both his show and closes out the 33-year-old Late Show franchise, which CBS says it is retiring for financial reasons.