Jack White spent the night after Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show broadcast helping the former host return to his roots on a tiny Michigan public-access television program.
Twenty-four hours after signing off from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the longtime CBS host resurfaced on Only in Monroe, a community-access show in Monroe, Michigan.
“It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount,” he said at the start of the broadcast.
White left his electric guitars at home to serve as the night’s musical director, DJ and comic foil.
“You know, you’ve got a lot of equipment over there,” Colbert said, poking fun at White’s spare, retro audio setup. “You left your wax cylinders at home?”
“Yeah,” White deadpanned.
Colbert’s May 22 appearance came with no advance warning. Along with White, the episode featured Detroit rapper Eminem, actor Steve Buscemi and Michigan native Jeff Daniels.
For Colbert, the appearance marked a return engagement. He first hosted Only in Monroe in July 2015, shortly before taking over The Late Show from David Letterman.
He hinted at the comeback during The Late Show’s final broadcast the previous evening.
“Technically our first show in July of 2015 was from a public access station in Monroe, Michigan, for an audience of 12 people,” Colbert told viewers. “Show business being what it is these days, that’s probably where you’ll see me next.”
White played a central role throughout the broadcast. Stationed behind a boom box and reel-to-reel tape deck, he spun recordings that included “96 Tears,” the 1966 garage-rock classic by ? and the Mysterians, the Michigan garage-rock act whose members hailed from Bay City and Saginaw.
Between songs, White and Colbert discussed local Bigfoot sightings and a long-running rivalry between Monroe’s chili-dog establishments. At one point, the pair even shared a chili dog Lady and the Tramp-style.
One of the night’s funniest moments came when Colbert inhaled helium and serenaded White with the White Stripes hit “Fell in Love With a Girl.”
The broadcast also reunited Colbert with Only in Monroe hosts Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, the former Miss America who helped make the local-access program a cult favorite.
The show concluded with Colbert channeling some post–Late Show aggression by obliterating the Only in Monroe set. “Since they are no longer using this set, it would actually be helpful for me to destroy it,” he explained. “Which is pretty great news because right now, for no particular reason, I would very much like to break something.”
After the set had been reduced to rubble, Colbert joked that he wanted to burn the remains but needed approval from a fire marshal. That’s when Eminem — born Marshall Mathers — appeared in a prerecorded video.
“Stephen, Marshall here,” Mathers said. “You are absolutely clear to burn that mother down, bro.”
Announcing The Late Show’s cancellation last year, Colbert told viewers: “I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.”
Colbert hosted The Late Show for a decade after succeeding David Letterman in 2015. Before that, he spent nine years as host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show in July 2025, citing financial pressures facing the late-night television business. The decision drew scrutiny because it came shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump while the company was seeking regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media. Paramount and CBS denied any political motivation.
