Stephen Colbert 'not thrilled' with 'Late Show' ending – 'It feels real now'

Stephen Colbert is looking ahead to life after "The Late Show."

The comedian made a rare appearance on another network's late-night talk show on Tuesday, Jan. 27, sitting down with Seth Meyers on NBC's "Late Night." During the chat, Colbert discussed the impending end of "The Late Show" and confirmed the final episode will air on May 21.

"It feels real now," he said. "I'm not thrilled with it."

Colbert initially announced the cancellation of "The Late Show" in July. At the time, the comedian confirmed CBS would not replace him as host and would instead end "The Late Show" entirely. Colbert has hosted the show since succeeding David Letterman in 2015.

On "Late Night," Colbert told Meyers what he'll miss most about working on "The Late Show."

"It's really the people. That's really what I care about, and that's really what I'm going to miss more than anything," he said. "And we'll do something else together."

Later in the interview, Meyers confronted Colbert with rumors about what he'll do next, including signing a deal with Netflix, running for office or writing a book.

"There's been a whole host of things that people have speculated that I will do next. I'm neither going to confirm or deny any of these, or many of these, because I've got to keep my options open," Colbert said playfully.

Or could Colbert team up with "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels? While he was on NBC, the comedian jokingly asked Meyers, "Is Lorne here? Would you tell him I'm available in June? I don't know if he's still hiring. I need a show, man. Not for the cash. I'm fine for cash. It's just [my wife] Eve will want me out of the house."

With just a few months left to make it happen, Colbert also revealed his dream guest for his final stretch of episodes: Pope Leo.

Paramount, the parent company of CBS, previously said that ending "The Late Show" was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," maintaining that the move had nothing to do with the show's "performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."

But critics questioned the timing of the news, which came after Colbert criticized Paramount for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a defamation lawsuit connected to a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris. Some critics also wondered if the move to cancel "The Late Show" was an effort to appease the Trump administration amid a merger between Paramount and Skydance Media, which was ultimately completed in August.

Colbert has continued to host "The Late Show" as normal since the cancellation news, often making light of the fact that he will need a new job soon. "While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?" he joked on stage at the Emmys in September.

Colbert recently called out CBS in the Jan. 22 episode of "The Late Show." While discussing Trump's new Board of Peace and noting that countries must pay $1 billion for a permanent seat on it, the comedian quipped, "Paying a billion dollars to obey Donald Trump seems a little steep. After all, CBS got to do it for just 16 million."

On his Jan. 22 show, Colbert also joked about new guidance from the Federal Communication Commission that The New York Times described as part of a "crackdown on late-night TV."

"What? A new crackdown on late-night TV? That has enormous implications for me for four more months," he joked. "Good luck, Jimmy! See ya, suckers!"

Contributing: Bryan Alexander and Anthony Robeldo, USA TODAY