Typically, a 10-year anniversary celebration for a TV show is a reason for celebration. It’s a milestone that few shows are able to hit, so it’s a special occasion when a series is able to celebrate being on air for 10 years. Or at least, it’s supposed to be.
On Sept. 9, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert celebrated its official 10-year anniversary, but the celebration was a bittersweet one. Rather than toasting 10 years and looking forward to celebrating more anniversaries to come, the celebration of The Late Show’s anniversary was overshadowed by the fact that the show’s time will soon be coming to an end.
That didn’t stop Colbert from celebrating the milestone, and he was exceptionally grateful that Paramount didn’t forget his anniversary with a special gift: the traditional gift of cancellation.
“Of course, every anniversary has its traditional gift. First anniversary is paper, the fifth anniversary is wood, and the tenth anniversary is cancellation. Thank you, Paramount, for remembering,” Colbert joked in his opening monologue.
Before pivoting into a discussion of President Donald Trump’s latest antics, Colbert joked that, “It doesn’t feel like 10 years, except for how I feel and how I look.” He then had some fun showing a photo from ten years ago as a photo of a young Barack Obama flashed on the screen.
Kicking off the show, Colbert had a bit of fun celebrating the anniversary of The Late Show with some help from Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore. He rolled back the clock to Sept. 8, 2015, when Colbert debuted as the new host of The Late Show before Colbert shot up in bed, awakening from a dream.
In bed next to him was his wife, played by Moore, who quipped that hosting a talk show for ten years was a long time, to which Colbert joked, “I thought it would be longer.” As their banter continued, Moore joked that it must have been a dream as no one watches those shows, a tongue-in-cheek nod to claims that The Late Show’s ratings were a factor in its cancellation.
As Colbert came to the realization that his actual dream was this conversation unfolding in bed, he awoke at his desk on The Late Show where John Oliver playfully joined the bit as he jokingly asked if Colbert really just fell asleep in the middle of his interview.
The night also featured a special look back at one of Colbert's favorite moments from the show's run. The moment brought us back to an early episode in which Will Ferrell dropped by to promote Zoolander 2 and ended up surprising Colbert by offering up his services as an Animal Expert.
Needless to say, Colbert definitely made the best of the situation and celebrated his 10-year anniversary hosting The Late Show with a fun episode. It's just a shame CBS didn't give him a high-profile celebration and that Paramount chose to end his run so abruptly.