Why The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Unexpectedly Stopped Taping

Stephen Colbert has been a fixture on late-night television for over a decade now. He got his start back in the '90s on "The Daily Show," which was hosted by Jon Stewart at the time and even featured a pre-"The Office" Steve Carell (via Britannica).

Colbert's ability to make the audience laugh with his correspondent duties on "The Daily Show" led to him getting his own hit spin-off series, "The Colbert Report," which, like the show he started on, made light of daily news stories, often poking fun and interviewing important people in a comedic way.

The show was so good, in fact, that Colbert got offered the role of host of "The Late Show," replacing the legendary David Letterman (via ABC 7 News).

Hosting a late-night talk show isn't an easy job. Colbert has been in the rhythm of hosting his show five nights a week for the last five years, reporting on all of the major news stories of the day. Just last week, he made headlines for his feelings on the Supreme Court leak regarding Roe v Wade. However, the host had to put his show on pause this week and the reason behind the break is serious.

Stephen Colbert had to put his show, "The Late Show," on hold this week following him coming down with symptoms of COVID-19. The show released a statement via Twitter, writing, "Stephen is experiencing symptoms consistent with a recurrence of COVID. Out of an abundance of caution for his staff, guests, and audience, he will be isolating for a few additional days. The Late Show will not be taping new episodes until further notice."

According to the New York Post, this isn't the first time Colbert has had to deal with COVID. He tested positive for the virus last month, making light of the situation on Twitter. "The Late Show" verified his positive test, only for the host to chime in, "Yep! I tested positive for Covid, but basically I'm feeling fine- grateful to be vaxxed and boosted. Thank you for the well wishes. This just proves that I will do anything to avoid interviewing Jason Bateman." Bateman was set to be the guest the night of the canceled episode.

Of course, with yet another pause on filming his show, Colbert sent out another tweet, joking, "WORST. SEQUEL. EVER."