It’s been two months since we watched Stephen Colbert’s final episode of The Late Show, and the comedian has largely been laying low during this time. Whether he’s been focusing on that Lord of the Rings script or just enjoying not being part of the national conversation anymore is unknown, but his Instagram account has remained stagnant since then. That is, until now.
Stephen Colbert’s late-night presence has been missed, if not by CBS, which is now getting beat by the Jimmys in the ratings, then definitely by his fans. I know I've missed his reactions to the Knicks’ NBA championship and other events recently. There was one big day, though, that Colbert couldn’t let pass without some public recognition, as he broke his social media silence with an adorable post.
It was his 7-year-old Boykin Spaniel Benny's happy birthday, and he just had to share a cute post. The pic showed the beautiful brown dog lying on a couch and looking into the camera.
I love how Stephen Colbert’s return to social media was personal, not political, and only time will tell if this was a true return or just a one-off post to celebrate his pup. Either way, it’s such a cute sentiment, and Benny definitely looks like a good boy who deserves his flowers. Hopefully, Colbert's social will be all dog posts from here on out.
Before the Benny birthday post, the most recent photo on Stephen Colbert’s Instagram showed The Late Show host in his final moments, waving to his last live audience, who was giving him a standing ovation.
Those who tuned in for that May 21 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert may remember that Benny made a pretty epic cameo. After spirited performances of “Jump Up” by Elvis Costello, Louis Cato, Jon Batiste and “Hello Goodbye” with Paul McCartney and The Great Big Joy Machine, McCartney and Stephen Colbert literally turned out the lights on the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The perspective changed to a street view, with the building morphing into a snowglobe playing The Late Show theme song. Benny then walks up to the item in the street and sniffs around the snowglobe before Stephen Colbert says from outside the frame, “Come on, Benny. Let’s go,” as you can see below:
The fact Benny was technically the last "person" you see on The Late Show’s final taping speaks to just how much the host treasures his pup, but I still doubt Benny was invited to mosh with Stephen Colbert at the wrap party.
We know that in the days that followed, the comedian took some time for family events that he said were “much more important” than the end of his show. He attended his brother’s wedding in Washington, D.C., that weekend before watching his son graduate from college the following Monday.
Stephen Colbert may not be on our TV screens every night anymore, but it’s pretty clear that he’s got his family and his dog by his side for whatever comes next. Hopefully we won’t have to wait until Benny turns 8 to hear from the former Late Show host again.
