The final episode of The Late Show, hosted by Stephen Colbert, drew 6.74 million viewers for CBS, achieving the highest viewership among weekday broadcasts. According to Nielsen data, this is recorded as the best result for Colbert's show. Throughout the past season, The Late Show typically attracted an audience ranging from 2.4 million to 2.7 million viewers.

However, this viewership number is only half of the 13.7 million viewers that David Letterman reached during his farewell episode in 2015. Still, the viewership for Colbert's final episode is noted as the highest figure among the show's weekday broadcasts. Colbert's program had reached 20.55 million viewers during a post-Super Bowl episode in 2016. Over the last season, The Late Show averaged 2.69 million viewers.

Colbert's final episode was star-studded with appearances from celebrities like Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows, and it concluded with a closing performance by Paul McCartney. CBS announced last summer, in a surprising decision, that it would cancel The Late Show after the current season, citing economic challenges in the time slot as the reason.

While the viewership numbers for the final episode were strong compared to a typical episode, they also highlight how viewing habits have changed. Colbert's last monologue reached 2.9 million views on YouTube, while the musical performance with McCartney garnered 1.1 million views. Millions also watched clips on platforms like TikTok and Reels. These figures are an important factor showing how the dynamics of late-night programming have evolved. And as of Friday, another network and program have come to an end in the television world.