Jimmy Kimmel preempted Wednesday's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' to announce his show would go dark on Thursday out of respect for Stephen Colbert's series finale on CBS. Kimmel called Colbert a "colleague and friend" and urged viewers to tune into CBS "for the last time." He told them plainly not to watch the show again after Thursday.

Kimmel said he never felt like they were competing against The Late Show, calling this era nothing like "the old days of late night." He pointed at whoever pushed Colbert out without naming names, saying he hoped "the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight."

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs its final episode on Thursday, ending CBS's late-night flagship. Kimmel's blunt remarks about the decision-makers carry weight even without names attached, and his directive not to watch again after Thursday makes clear he treats this as a final farewell.