It's well known that Stephen Colbert intends to retire his conservative talk show host persona when the Report ends, but where does that character go when Colbert, who's worn him as lightly as a cap since 2005, takes that cap off for the last time? In that spirit, Grimmy, aka the Grim Reaper, Stephen Colbert's "colleague and lifelong friend," not to mention his travel agent, will be the final guest when Comedy Central's The Colbert Report ends its 9-year run on Dec. 18 (11:30 p.m. ET/PT). Guests on Colbert's final four shows also include: Seth Rogen, star of The Interview, the film with the season's buzziest off-screen story (Dec. 15); Kendrick Lamar, who also will present a musical performance (Dec. 16); and author and National Book Award winner Phil Klay (Dec. 17). In a statement, Colbert acknowledges the significance of the show's ending: "Our last week of shows are going to be really special, just like every other week."
– Stephen Colbert signs off from Comedy Central next week, and the guest list is raising some eyebrows because of the one who appears last: It will be Grimmy, as in the Grim Reaper, who is described affectionately as Colbert's "colleague and lifelong friend," reports USA Today. So is the real Colbert killing off the fictional Colbert? It kind of looks that way, observes Gawker. It notes that Colbert joked in October about "massive foreshadowing" and panned over to Grimmy sliding a finger across his throat. The last show is Thursday, and Colbert will take over David Letterman's show in September as the real Colbert.