Stephen Colbert assembled his former late-night cohorts for an epic reunion.
Former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart joined alumni correspondents Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Ed Helms and Rob Corddry on Colbert's "Late Show" Tuesday night to relive Colbert's last day on "The Daily Show" and push the "liberal agenda."
The bold reunion comes on the heels of the late-night host drawing fire over comments in which he said the best use for President Donald Trump's mouth was as Vladimir Putin's "cock holster."
But what better way to stick it to his critics than by showing a united front with some of America's most beloved political comedians?
"I can't put it into words, but I can put it into flashback," the comedian said before taking viewers down memory lane in a flashback remake of his last day working on "The Daily Show" in 2005.
"Ah, my final day. So many memories," Colbert said in the sketch. "But there comes a time when a man has to do something completely different -- the same character, half an hour later, half a block away. Courage."
Samantha Bee, who plays one of Colbert's colleagues in the sketch, walks into the office kitchen while Colbert packs up his belongings, including his "lucky mug," his "lucky box of free printer cartridges" and a not-so-sleek "tangerine iBook."
"I can't believe you're leaving right in the middle of the George W. Bush administration," Bee said. "There's never going to be another president this good for comedy," she said mimicking a joke Will Ferrell made during Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner last month. "I mean, this guy does something ridiculous like at least once a month... You know, there is one thing for sure: There is no scenario in which I will ever say, 'God I wish George W. Bush was president.'"
A fake-mustache-clad Helms and wig-wearing Corddry enter the room.
"I can't believe you're leaving us, Stephen. I mean, it's crazy," Helms said. "It's like Beyoncé leaving Destiny's Child. We're never going to hear from her again."
Corddry added: "Actually, we came because we're fighting over which one of us gets your office. I'm already ready to hang up my poster of my two favorite comedians: Bill Cosby and Subway spokesman Jared Fogel."
John Oliver did not join "The Daily Show" until a year after Colbert left, so he was the last to enter the sketch.
"That's right, it's me -- Steve Carell," Oliver said. "Beloved correspondent from 'The Daily Show' in 2005."
"Unlike you feeble-minded chuckle monkeys, I'm off to Hollywood to become a serious actor, but it is me -- Steve Carell -- and I can prove that by saying something that only Steve Carell would say: 'I have so much body hair that there is an unbroken line of fur between my eyebrows and my ankles,'" Oliver added as he opened the refrigerator only to find Jon Stewart inside.
Colbert asked a yogurt-eating Stewart what he was doing, adding that the show was about to start.
"Why [do we have to do the show] every day? You could cover everything you need to say about politics in half an hour on a Sunday night!" Stewart said.
Oliver interrupted: "People would watch that on a Sunday? I doubt it."
Bee added: "Or a Wednesday at 10:30? 9:30 Central?"
(Read more story below.)
In the second, more serious half of the show, all five "Daily Show" alums sat down with Colbert to discuss how making jokes about comedy has changed over the years, specifically since they were all doing it together over 10 years ago. Stewart then called out Colbert for having a "potty mouth."
"I learned it from you, Dad,” Colbert responded.
"On a night like this, when James Comey has just been fired, do you miss, you know, doing a show like this?" Colbert asked Stewart after the latter mentioned he has a farm in New Jersey. "Because you used to, you know, talk about bullshit. Now you literally shovel it."
"There are nights where I find myself sort of impotently shouting into the abyss, which if you think about it, wasn't that different from what I did on a nightly basis," Stewart said.
Stewart explained that he misses how his involvement in the show helped him "make sense" of the news. "But the things that I've gained in terms of time spent with family and things like that, I wouldn't give up," he said.
He then weighed in on the recent backlash surrounding his friend Colbert.
"The things you say, even if they're crass or even if they are in some ways not respectful enough to the office of the presidency, we can insult, he can injure,” Stewart said. “It's the difference between insult and injury. And for the life of me, I do not understand why in this country we try to hold comedians to a standard we do not hold leaders to. It's bizarre.”
Stewart also joked about how proud he was of the diversity on "The Daily Show" back when he hosted, noting that non-white performers Larry Wilmore, Wyatt Cenac and Jessica Williams joined the show only after Colbert had left.
After showing a highlight reel of some of Stewart's early field pieces, Colbert asked him if he ever felt guilty for sending his correspondents out on such outlandish missions.
“No, I enjoyed it and would try and heighten it,” Stewart said.
All jokes aside, Colbert did give credit where credit was due and thanked Stewart, especially, for getting him the job.
“I want to thank all of you guys for being here," he said to Bee Oliver, Helms and Corrdry. "This is what it was like to hang out backstage for years at 'The Daily Show.'"
Colbert then pointed to Stewart and said, “I wouldn't have this gig or any gig if it hadn't been for this man.”
