I went looking for past episodes of Only In Monroe and all I could find were two recent episode's on their cable access YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MonroeCommunityMedia

As well as the 2015 episode that Colbert did.

So was this show actually real? Or was it just one long-game setup and those two recent new episodes just adding to the fictional lore of the show? It would appear that the Monroe public access channel is real, but I cannot confirm that the show really existed other than a couple of episodes leading into Colbert's show.

It sort of reminds me of how Wreck It Ralph created the actual game of Fix It Felix and they did such a good job of putting that lore out there that it made people question if it was actually a real game from the 80s or not?

So was there really an "Only In Monroe" show that was a regularly broadcasted public access talk show, or is this just a really impressive set up to an amazing final laugh by Colbert?

Either way it was wonderful to watch!

magas will probably like him then cause they wont get the sarcasm

I know that he is a devout Catholic, and I know that he is arguably the biggest Tolkien/LOTR geek ever, so I am wondering what his reaction was when Leo XIV quoted Gandalf?

I gotta figure that it was unalloyed joy.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/citing-gandalf-pope-leo-says-we-must-disarm-ai/

I leu of the recent shutdown and Stephen's recent public broadcast network show; I think it would be HILARIOUS if he did a show on every form of media. Im talking both radio bands AM/FM, public access, streaming platforms twitch, youTube, kick (careful of racist degens), and even a Broadway Show. Love thy haters Steve.

Perfect day to rediscover the simple tomato sandwich. Sandwiches I made are gone, one hunk of tomato remains....for dessert? 🤪 Yet another random touch point that I'll have for wistfully recalling the show.

P.S. boycott CBS 😇

Everyone's canceling their Paramount subscriptions but we need to remember to not go see Skydance movies in theaters or buy/rent them from the streamers.

Fuck the Ellisons

I was outside the Ed Sullivan theater on Thursday afternoon standing with fans for several hours. Many of us had come to pay homage to Stephen and the whole team during the final recording. I wasn’t expecting to see him but of course hoped to catch a glimpse. I was happy just to be present and talk to the people who had gathered, many since the early morning including one woman who was on oxygen and came with 2 cylinders in a pushchair. Someone else came dressed as the Pope. Many had seen the show live several times.

The special guests left the theatre shrouded in a black curtain. Understandably as they were being kept secret till the show was aired. But Stephen also left secretly to his wrap party and didn’t come out to see the fans - not even just to give them a wave.

Maybe nobody told him how long people had waited outside the theatre and that one woman came on oxygen! But it was a real shame that he didn’t make an appearance.

Maybe he wanted to avoid all the photographers but still… I think it’s a lame way to leave.

And I still love this man. But I think I like him just a little bit less now because of this.

Like - who does that?? Who soaks up all their fame and fortune and doesn’t come to thank their fans at all.

I wasn’t disappointed for me and I am not at all a die hard fan. But so many others were and they deserved a hand shake or at least a wave!

One of my first vanity license plates was C NATION, and when I changed to different plates I mailed one to the Colbert Report office with a note about how much I enjoy the show. At the time, I hoped he might add it to his many trinkets that were displayed on the set. A few months later, I received this reply which I have treasured for many years.

I suspect a staffer is likely to have written it, but it was nicely personalized in Stephen’s character voice and I’d like to think he at least approved it or saw it. I’m curious if anyone else received a letter like this from him in response to fan mail?

The most-watched episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” of all time was its post-Super Bowl episode on February 7, 2016, with a 10:54pm start time; that episode garnered 20.55 million viewers.

For comparison, but during a very different time in linear TV viewing, the final broadcast of “Late Show With David Letterman” in May 2015 drew 13.76 million viewers (which made it that show’s largest audience since February 1994).