Why The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not new tonight

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

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is going with reruns for a second straight week, as there will be no new episodes of the talk show airing between Monday, December 4, and Friday, December 8. The decision was made so host Stephen Colbert could continue to recover from his recent medical procedure.

On Monday, November 27, Colbert shared a message on Threads that he underwent surgery for a ruptured appendix, which must have occurred sometime after his last show on Wednesday, November 22, wrapped up for the Thanksgiving holiday. Colbert showed he still has his funny bone in the message:

"Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. I'm sure you're thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I'm recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix. I'm grateful to my doctors for their care and to Evie and the kids for putting up with me. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

Then on Sunday, December 3, he posted again on Threads saying that he is following the advice of his doctors and "continuing to rest and heal."

While it was previously believed Colbert would be able to return December 4 for new episodes, and guests had been announced, the decision to postpone for his return means that there will be another week of reruns in the talk show's usual time slot of 11:35 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Here is a complete rundown of The Late Show episodes that are going to air as reruns this week:

Monday, December 4

  • Kerry Washington
  • Rep. Maxwell Frost
  • Original air date October 10

Tuesday, December 5

  • Sec. Pete Buttigieg
  • Willie Nelson
  • Original airdate November 2

Wednesday, December 6

  • John Oliver
  • Performance by boygenius
  • Original airdate October 3

Thursday, December 7

  • Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez
  • Performance by Arlo Parks
  • Original airdate October 23

Friday, December 8

  • Talking Heads
  • Mae Martin
  • Original air date October 25

This is the second time that Colbert has had a medical incident forcing him to cancel multiple shows in a week. Back in October, just shortly after returning from the end of the writers strike, he was diagnosed with COVID and had to cancel shows as a result.

The hope now will be that Colbert can return for the week of December 11-15.

In the meantime, you can watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert reruns nightly at 11:35 pm ET/PT on CBS or stream episodes on-demand on Paramount Plus.

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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.