--- description: Colbert, a former 'Daily Show' correspondent and the future "Late Show" host, set jokes aside to tell his mentor how he really feels. title: Stephen Colbert Poured His Heart Out for 'The Daily Show' Finale image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt955b96a272ada29f/69885de1a988caceee6b3c0a/jon-stewart2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Colbert Poured His Heart Out for _The Daily Show_ Finale  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 7, 2015 4:05 AM CUT  Jon Stewart poses for a portrait in promotion of his forthcoming directorial and screenwriting feature debut "Rosewater" on Nov. 7, 2014 in New York. Jon Stewart poses for a portrait in promotion of his forthcoming directorial and screenwriting feature debut "Rosewater" on Nov. 7, 2014 in New York.Victoria Will—Invision/AP  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 7, 2015 4:05 AM CUT Jon Stewart got a handful of familiar visitors on his last episode hosting _The Daily Show_ Thursday night, but the former cast member who had the most screen time, and the most genuine farewell, was Stephen Colbert. Just as Stewart was preparing to turn to a commercial break, after receiving visits from a slew of former correspondents, the audience began chanting, “Stephen, Stephen, Stephen!” As Colbert sat across from the man who, in his own estimation, launched his career, Stewart pleaded that Colbert not go off script. But the upcoming CBS _Late Show_ host launched into a heartfelt, honest thank you to the man who’s forever changed the face of the news. “We owe you because we learned from you, we learned from you, by example, how to have a show with intention, how to work with clarity, how to treat people with respect,” Colbert said without a hint of his trademark goofiness. “You are infuriatingly good at your job, and all of us who were lucky enough to work with you for 16 years are better at our jobs because we got to watch you do yours, and we are better people for having known you.” Colbert will have his biggest stage yet, in less than two months’ time, to put those lessons into practice. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Poured His Heart Out for The Daily Show Finale","datePublished":"2015-08-07T04:05:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:23:09.428Z","description":"The former correspondent and future \"Late Show\" host set jokes aside to tell his mentor how he really feels","url":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt955b96a272ada29f/69885de1a988caceee6b3c0a/jon-stewart2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt955b96a272ada29f/69885de1a988caceee6b3c0a/jon-stewart2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jon Stewart poses for a portrait in promotion of his film,\"Rosewater,\" in New York on Nov. 7, 2014.","caption":"Jon Stewart poses for a portrait in promotion of his film,\"Rosewater,\" in New York on Nov. 7, 2014.","creditText":"Victoria Will—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/","name":"Stephen Colbert Poured His Heart Out for The Daily Show Finale"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Jon Stewart Says Goodbye to The Daily Show","description":"Jon Stewart signed off for the last time on The Daily Show Thursday after 16 years as host.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WrYwrJkn/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-07T05:51:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WrYwrJkn.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3988371/stephen-colbert-daily-show-finale/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```