The Late Show Canceled This Week After Stephen Colbert Suffers Medical Emergency

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Late-night host Stephen Colbert is putting his show on pause for a very valid reason.

On Monday, November 27, Colbert took to Instagram’s Threads app to reveal that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won’t be airing on CBS this week. “Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?'” the professional comedian joked, before explaining what was actually going on.

“Actually, I’m recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix,” Colbert continued. After expressing his gratitude towards his wife Evie McGee-Colbert and their children — as well as the doctors providing his care — he apparently couldn’t help going ahead with one last joke about his emergency appendectomy. “Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas,” Colbert concluded.

As of this writing, it appears that the show will remain dark, and nobody will fill in for Colbert during his absence. Based on the timing, it seems as if this medical emergency happened shortly before Colbert and his crew were set to return from their long holiday weekend. Guests that were supposed to appear this week include Jennifer Garner, Baz Luhrmann, Sir Patrick Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Kelsey Grammer, and Colbert’s former bandleader and Grammy winner Jon Batiste.

Stephen Colbert has been a late-night staple for years

After getting his start as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Stephen Colbert skyrocketed to fame when Comedy Central saw fit to give him his own show. “The Colbert Report” kicked off in 2005, casting Colbert as a fictionalized and deeply conservative version of himself (complete with a mispronunciation of his name, effectively erasing the “T” from the end). Colbert’s act as an outraged conservative pundit airing his grievances against American liberals every night really worked; in fact, the George W. Bush administration infamously hired the comedian to host the 2006 White House Correspondent’s Dinner, perhaps under the impression that his conservatism wasn’t an act (a move they likely later regretted after his searing monologue). His in-character performance cemented Colbert’s legacy as a comedy legend, and the best was yet to come.

Colbert left “The Colbert Report” in 2014 and made the leap to network television one year later, taking over for David Letterman as the host of CBS’ storied “Late Show.” Throughout his late-night career, Colbert has earned acclaim from audiences as well as major awards like Emmys, so one week off won’t hurt him — and his fans know that, as soon as he’s recovered, he’ll be back at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.