Why The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not new this week, August 26-30

Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Image credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

Looks like Stephen Colbert is squeezing in one more vacation before summer comes to an end, as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not airing new episodes for the week of August 26-30. Instead, reruns of the late-night talk show are going to air all week on CBS at 11:35 pm ET/PT.

The Late Show has taken multiple weeks off this summer, with this being its fifth week off since Memorial Day in late May by our count. It's not overly surprising however, considering the show produced four live shows last week, August 19-22, from Chicago in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention and we have the final holiday of the summer, Labor Day, coming up this weekend. 

While it's not confirmed if The Late Show will return with new episodes next week (September 2-6), it would make sense that the show will be on more consistently as the fall TV season gets underway.

Colbert isn't the only late-night staple that has been taking extended time off this summer. His CBS partner Taylor Tomlinson and her show After Midnight has been off for multiple weeks as she is currently promoting a new comedy tour. Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been on and off with new episodes, though Kimmel himself has mostly taken the summer off and guest hosts have been filling in. Then The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers have also had their share of breaks over the summer. 

Even so, here is a look at the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert reruns that are going to be shown this week:

Monday, August 26

  • "Community Calendar" with Sean Hayes
  • Billie Eilish takes "The Colbert Questionert"
  • Hiroyuki Sanada
  • Performance by Koe Wetzel with Jessie Murph
  • Original airdate August 15, 2024

Tuesday, August 27

  • Kaitlin Collins
  • Walton Goggins
  • Original airdate August 12, 2024

Wednesday, August 28

  • Matthew Macfadyen
  • Jon M. Chu
  • Original airdate July 23, 2024

Thursday, August 29

  • Bowen Yang
  • Nick Cave
  • Original airdate August 13, 2024

Friday, August 30

  • Alex Wagner
  • Ali Macofsky
  • Original airdate August 14, 2024

You can watch these episodes on CBS this week or stream them on-demand on Paramount Plus; the latter also has more previous episodes of The Late Show that you can watch on-demand if you want to see Colbert talk with other celebrity guests. 

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.