Colbert, who replaced David Letterman on the series in 2015, has spent years weaving poetry into interviews, monologues, and emotional moments on-air, often using literature to move conversations away from satire and into sentimental personal and spiritual territory, often focused on religion and geeky interests such as the prose of J.R.R. Tolkien.
According to production sources, Colbert’s literary posturing is expected to dominate his goodbye episode, with plans for dramatic readings, tributes to favorite poets, and appearances from guests connected to some of the show’s most emotional poetry segments.
One TV insider told us: “Stephen loves sharing his love of poetry on air, and sees it as this profound emotional bridge between comedy and sincerity, but there are people behind the scenes who think the finale could become unbearably self-serious if he goes ahead with his plans to incorporate verses into his farewell. The concern is that viewers tuning in for laughs may instead get an extended leftie, soppy, weepy, literary, self-indulgent therapy session.”