After 11 years hosting “The Late Show” on CBS, Stephen Colbert said goodbye on May 21, 2026. But he was not done with television. The next night, he returned to Monroe Community Media in Monroe, Michigan, helping bring new attention, equipment, and more than $15,000 in support to the small nonprofit station.
For anyone who enjoys stories about well-known entertainers using their platform in thoughtful ways, Colbert’s return to Monroe shows how a brief appearance on local television became a practical boost for a community media center.
A tiny station with a long history
Monroe Community Media is a nonprofit public access organization based in Monroe, Michigan. It provides media education and services to Monroe County, including public, educational, and government access channels, a community radio station, and media training opportunities.
The station airs on Xfinity and Spectrum cable and produces local programming, including “Only in Monroe.” It has done that community work for years with limited financial resources.
How Colbert and Monroe first connected
Back in July 2015, Colbert guest-hosted “Only in Monroe” shortly before taking over “The Late Show” from David Letterman on CBS. During that episode, he interviewed rapper Eminem in front of a tiny studio audience.
Colbert later referenced that visit during his CBS finale. He told viewers that his first show was technically from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, for an audience of about a dozen people.
The surprise return
Less than 24 hours after his final CBS broadcast, Colbert appeared again on Monroe Community Media. He hosted a full episode of “Only in Monroe” on May 22, 2026, at the familiar late-night time of 11:35 p.m.
He opened the episode with a joke about how difficult it had been to go 23 hours without being on television. He also thanked Monroe Community Media for having him before joking that it, too, could get acquired by Paramount.
Star power in a small studio
Colbert did not return alone. Musician Jack White joined the episode as a volunteer music director, sitting near a boombox and reel-to-reel setup. Actor Jeff Daniels also appeared during the broadcast.
Colbert interviewed the show’s regular hosts, Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson. He also spoke by FaceTime with Byron Allen, whose show “Comics Unleashed” took over the 11:35 p.m. CBS slot after “The Late Show” ended.
The set got smashed and burned
The original “Only in Monroe” set had barely changed since Colbert’s 2015 visit. Genevieve Benson, Monroe Community Media’s creative director, told WXYZ that the set was literally the same 11 years later.
As part of the episode’s finale, Colbert, Daniels, and White helped destroy the old set with sledgehammers. The broken pieces were later burned in a dumpster outside the studio as part of the staged ending.
For the station, the moment was more than a comedy bit. Benson said the station could not afford a dumpster on its own, making the demolition unexpectedly useful as well as memorable.
Equipment and gifts from New York
Beyond the on-air fun, Colbert’s crew brought equipment from New York and donated it to Monroe Community Media. CBS also made a separate gift to the station’s high school summer media program.
For a small nonprofit working with tight resources, professional broadcast equipment can make a lasting difference. The donations gave the station tools it could not easily have purchased on its own.
The eBay auction and what it raised
The Late Show’s official eBay store auctioned six Monroe-related items connected to Colbert’s 2015 and 2026 appearances. The items included autographed scripts, Colbert’s coffee mug from the 2026 special, and signed pieces of the destroyed set.
Those six auction items raised at least $10,341.70. Combined with donated equipment, the CBS gift, and public donations from around the world, the station received more than $15,000 in support.
A full-time job made possible
Before the visit and resulting fundraising, Monroe Community Media operations manager Jerry Gysin was not a full-time employee. The new support allowed the station to bring him on full-time.
Gysin described Colbert’s return as a valuable learning experience and said it felt like one era ending and another beginning. For the station’s small team, that shift made a real practical difference.
Why Colbert chose Monroe again
Colbert made clear that Monroe held a special place in his late-night story. His 2015 appearance came shortly before he began hosting “The Late Show,” and his 2026 return came immediately after that CBS chapter ended.
He told the Monroe audience that since his last visit, he had spent 11 years as the primary host of “The Late Show” on CBS. Coming back to Monroe gave the moment a full-circle feeling.
What this means for public access TV
Creative director Genevieve Benson told WXYZ that public access centers across the country are suffering from financial loss. Monroe Community Media’s experience showed what can happen when a national figure uses his reach to spotlight a local institution.
A single late-night appearance did not solve every challenge facing public access media. But for one station in Monroe, it brought new equipment, new donations, and enough support to make a full-time role possible.
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