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One evening after the last edition of the “Late Show,” Stephen Colbert was back Late night television to see – in Monroe, Michigan.
In his final monologue on Thursday, Colbert told his audience: “This is our last show from the Ed Sullivan Theater. We’ve been lucky to be here for 11 years. That’s not a given – with our very first show actually airing in July 2015 on a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, to an audience of 12 people.”
Colbert was referring to his July 2015 appearance on the public access show “Only in Monroe,” which he used as a dress rehearsal for his hosting role before taking over the “Late Show” – with Eminem as a guest. “Given the state of show business, that’s probably the closest place you’ll see me,” Colbert joked Thursday.
Colbert on “Only in Monroe”
But it wasn’t a joke: According to LateNighter, Colbert actually returned to “Only in Monroe” on Friday night – promptly at 11:35 p.m., along with the show’s hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, as well as guests like Detroit veteran Jack White and actors Steve Buscemi and Jeff Daniels.
“Hello, welcome. It’s time again for another edition of ‘Only in Monroe’. I’m your guest…host Stephen Colbert,” he greeted the unsuspecting Monroe audience. “Since my last visit here in Monroe, Michigan, I have been the lead host of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for 11 years, which ended last night. It’s been an agonizing 23 hours without a television appearance, so I’m grateful to be here at Monroe Community Media – before that network, too, is acquired by Paramount.”
After a monologue full of Monroe-specific jokes, Colbert introduced his volunteer “music director,” Jack White, who was seated at the side of the stage with a boombox and a tape recorder.
FaceTime with Byron Allen and Eminem
Colbert then chatted with “Only in Monroe” hosts Baumann and Wilson, including a FaceTime call with Byron Allen, whose show “Comics Unleashed” takes over the 11:35 p.m. slot on CBS’ “Late Show.” Buscemi then appeared in a commercial for a local pizzeria called Buscemis and made it clear that he had no connection to the restaurant.
Later in the episode, Colbert and White had a rambling discussion about chili cheese dogs, which ended with them eating one together, Lady and the Tramp-style. Jeff Daniels stopped by for a cooking segment where he taught Colbert how to make a pita sandwich from random fridge leftovers.
Eminem gives the green light
When the episode ended, Colbert, White and Daniels dismantled the makeshift set and dragged it to a nearby container to burn – but first they had to get permission from the “Fire March”: Colbert FaceTimed Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, his 2015 “Only in Monroe” guest. “Stephen, this is Marshall – you have the green light to burn this thing down,” the rapper said.
“Well then, that’s it,” Colbert said at the end of the show. “Thank you for watching ‘Only in Monroe’, and to anyone who has followed my other talk shows over the years – thank you for that too. Until we meet again: I’m only here, only on ‘Only in Monroe’.”
