Stephen Colbert to Guest Star on ELSBETH Season 3 as Late Night Host
In the series, he will serve as the host of the fictional series "Way Late with Scotty Bristol."
By: Josh Sharpe Aug. 05, 2025
Stephen Colbert is making the leap to a different kind of late-night show, as multiple sources confirm that the host and comedian will appear as a guest star in the upcoming third season of Elsbeth. In the series, he will serve as the host of the fictional series "Way Late with Scotty Bristol." The news comes in the wake of the cancellation of his show, The Late Show, at CBS.
It was announced last month that the CBS detective series, led by Carrie Preston, will return for its third season on October 12, 2025. The first "sneak peek" episode will air that Sunday, with the second episode following only four days later on Thursday, October 16. The following episodes will continue to premiere during the 10:00 ET timeslot on Thursdays.
The series features an impressive roster of Broadway talent, with stars like Jane Krakowski, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, André De Shields, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Vanessa Williams, and more. The Season 2 finale featured many returning guest stars and a big, star-studded rendition of Chicago's Cell Block Tango. Take a look at our exclusive conversation about the episode with writer and showrunner Jonathan Tolins. and check out our guide to all the Broadway actors in the series here.
Elsbeth stars Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, the astute but unconventional consent decree attorney utilizing her unique point of view by working with the NYPD to catch New York’s most well-heeled murderers. Season 2 of the critically acclaimed series brought new cases and challenges when mistakes of the past come back to haunt Elsbeth, her boss Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) and Detective Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson).
Elsbeth is based on the character featured in The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Robert King, Michelle King, Jonathan Tolins, Liz Glotzer, Erica Shelton Kodish, Bryan Goluboff and Gail Barringer serve as executive producers. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Throughout the years, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has showcased numerous Broadway talents through interviews and performances. In May of this year, Audra McDonald and the cast of Gypsy visited the show for a performance of "Some People." In 2021, the show famously aired a conversation with Stephen Sondheim in which he announced his new musical "Square One," which was later titled "Here We Are." This would end up being the final TV interview from the composer/lyricist, who passed away shortly after.
At its closure next May, Stephen Colbert will have hosted the show for eleven seasons. He took over from David Letterman in 2015, who had hosted the show beginning in 1993. The current late-night TV lineup includes The Tonight Show on NBC, Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC.
Photos courtesy of CBS
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