I love that Stephen can recite lines from classic literature, plays, and poems so casually. If he hadn't taken the path he took, I would have loved to have had him as a professor.

When Stephen retires I just want a podcast of him taking philosophical deep dives with his friends. This was fantastic.

"My greatest fear is that I don't have an ethical core." What a fascinating and profound and relatable concession from Colbert.

Stephen is so grounded and SANE as a person. This interview is similar to the conversation he had with Anderson Cooper about death and grieving. Stephen could have a whole career just talking with people about the meaning of life. Whether he is talking about grief or LOTR, the insights and intelligence he brings to a conversation are mesmerizing.

This is a real human interaction, from the heart.

It's really sweet that all these comedians care so much about Baby J... they seem to have really rallied around him and seem very protective of him. Nice to see

Not an interview, but wide ranging philosophical conversation between two friends. Authentic, quick, philosophical, grounded, moral compass--what more could you want in a friend?

Both John and Stephen are such special people. Their self-awareness, honesty and intelligence is something to strive for. What an awesome conversation.

This was such a genuinely awesome conversation.

John is a wonderful example of why we should never devalue people struggling with mental health issues. His willingness to be both candid and humorous about his issues lends a credibility to his words that border on art.

This is great in so many ways. MEN talking about their innermost fears is rare. It was genuine, sincere, and even a little awkward at times. But that made it REAL. Thank you both!

One reason why I love Colbert is his ability and willingness to dive deep into real human subjects without having to make a joke out of it. There’s so much depth and substance that helps to highlight all the fun he has on the show. Such a refreshing presence on TV these days.

What a privilege to listen in on a conversation between these two engrossing human beings who shared their vulnerabilities not only with each other, but with the rest of us. How could we not love them more than we already did?

It’s been too long since I’ve had new Mulaney content to tide me over

Oh John. You got me teary-eyed with "If he's good, I'm good". That's the whole point of parenting....

john's reaction to "set yourself on fire and ran into traffic" is the best shit. just the processing pause, and the smooth transition into laughing ridiculously hard

John and I have basically gotten sober at the same time so I am always intently following that story whenever it's on latenight

Worrying if you have an ethical core is a good indication you have one Stephen.

The honesty that Mulaney has about his addiction and recovery is so important, especially given that he was successful while using but still realized that it was making his life worse. It's far too easy for folks to think "I'm making tons of money and everyone loves me, why change?" but Mulaney had the courage and insight to recognize he was getting in his own way. I wish the same for everyone who faces the same struggles.

Such a wonderful example of REAL men sharing emotions, fears, thoughts. No alpha crap, so engaging and authentic.

I’m so happy that he made it through his drug ordeal and has found a great new life I’d hate to have lost such talent , and I think it’s a lot due to the fact that he has such solid friends , friends that cared and stood behind him .. thank you Stephen for being one of those friends 🙏💚

What a nerdy convo on national television. It’s great seeing John sober and happy and confident enough to have in depth conversations about his troubles and experiences!

This is genuinely one of the best conversations i have ever listened to

I love how every time John Mulaney walks into Steven's Colbert studio, the place automatically turns into a psychologist

Well...that, I do believe, was the best interview I've ever seen. So real, raw. I really enjoyed it.

This is the best interview of John Mullaney I've ever seen.

"Do you ever feel like you're bothering me?" "Yes." "NEVER." Instant tears. What a kind and honest exchange. There's probably someone most of us need to have this exact conversation with, whichever seat we are in.

This is exactly what a talk show SHOULD be. Good conversations that can weave in and out between two people who have a connection with each other, sharing their thoughts and dreams and fears. Sooooo fascinating, and I'm glad they played it all here, since there wasn't any huge laugh out loud viral moments. Wonderful stuff!

I love how much these two really like each other.

"I always want to play roles that publically accuse me of the things I privately accuse myself of." 💛💛 how introspective!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the best and classiest Colbert guests always acknowledge the band, and Mr Mulaney did not disappoint. God love him, I wish him continued success in his recovery, he's a great dude.

When John starts talking about his son it’s the most wholesome thing ever. How much he genuinely loves him and finds him cool,funny,interesting, is so cute

The bands opening song for him, the melody to “I can see clearly now the rain is gone” is touching.

11:00 Stephens ability to quote like this gives me chills.

This is the best dialogue I've seen in any television show or movie in a long time.

This interview made me see both of these gentlemen in such a brighter new light

Jon has gained a certain humility that makes him even more lovable. Been praying for him a long time and will continue.

What a wonderful interview. I'd love to see Stephen do that more often. And kudos to John for his recovery.

This was like sitting at the dinner table listening as two friends chatted at home. Lovely. Just lovely

I love when Colbert shows his intellect, without even trying or knowing that he is doing it. Beautiful man

"A Man for All Seasons" is one of my favorite plays, and I love this intelligent conversation.

I love how passionate they are about A Man for All Seasons

As someone who works in chaplaincy -- Stephen Colbert reminds me of how a chaplain approaches conversation sometimes

Loved all the introspection from John and Stephen. They connect like old friends.

Stephen can get super deep, like philosophical, religion, the whole deal. Not many late-night hosts will do that. It's all the topics of the day, and jokes, and new movies or music coming out. Even the conversations around politics- those might sometimes get intense and real. But seldom will they get personal. Few hosts actually bare themselves on air as much as Stephen does. And it shows how much he trusts the guest, to get that deep- he doesn't do it with everybody. People will affectionately give him grief for his deep, deep love of Tolkien, but there again, he is super honest and up-front and unashamed about it. Same thing with his religious and philosophical views, and self-insights. He feels deeply, and he is honest with himself, and his guest, and the studio audience, and the world audience, about it. I have tremendous respect for the man. I've never heard anything bad about his home life. His wife Evie seems to genuinely adore him; they adore each other. His kids seemed game to help out during the pandemic, and he speaks of them glowingly. I often wonder about the families of famous people; how they handle the spotlight, or sharing so much of their loved one with the rest of the world. He seems to have a healthy relationship to his fame, as does his family. I hope that is truly as true as it seems to be.

Stephen is such a kind human. Those who get to call him friend are very fortunate.

While I appreciate Colbert's work, I've never related to him as much as this clip. Mulaney is a treasure, and watching these two high-IQ comedians dive deep is gold.

This is one of the best interviews I’ve ever seen. You can tell they are true friends by how safe they are with each other. They share real stuff here

Always impressed how Stephen can recite random passages at will.

This is the cutest first date energy

Stephen's emotional intelligence and ability to communicate gives me comfort and hope

This was 5 months ago, and I somehow missed it. But I'm going to say this late anyway. This is the deepest interview I've ever seen on a Stephen show. John brought out so much from himself and Stephen. Definitely a two-fer! Thank you both for your openness.

This is perhaps the healthiest and most genuine I've seen John in a very long time. Congratulations on the sobriety, your young small family and performing genuinely yet hilariously.

I saw John’s first show out of rehab. The whole audience laughed and cried. A really special memory for me. Proud of him.

I've never seen A Man For All Seasons, but this whole interview was still great. Stephen should never worry about raising the intellectual bar on his show. Don't dumb it down, know your audience. We like silly, but cretins we are not. Thoughtful, heartfelt, LOVE IT!!!

God love John! He is one of my absolute fav comedians. Keep up the recovery, and keep being your awesome self!

Stephen, simply the fear that you do not have an ethical core ensures that you do. No unethical person worries and measures themselves in this way. You are true.

This made me cry. Two extraordinarily gifted men having the best conversation about so many things that matter ♥️🥹

Love when Mulaney is on ANY show but especially this one. They’re kindred spirits.

This was an extraordinary conversation by two very astute, authentic people.

I absolutely love Stephen and John separately and to watch them together, having this deep conversation, interlaced with humor is beautiful. I am so grateful that John seems like he is doing well.

I love this interview! I adore both of these men, and it's really cool to know that they are genuine friends.

This is an astounding conversation between two professional and intellectual peers. With jokes.

These two always have such special conversations that are atypical of this setting which is why I'm always excited to see John on the show. Almost anyone Stephen actually knows could fit that description but John and Stephen are both very aware of their own inner feelings and aren't afraid to talk about it which is what makes their conversations unique. Also John isn't afraid to turn it right back onto Stephen and ask him the same question so we end up learning a lot about both of them and it's genuinely interesting and makes you feel like "well if these guys have these thoughts and feelings and open up about them so can I".

This and their interview talking about each others’ anxieties is a real testament to how much they like and admire each other. Even if there are cameras and they’re on a show, they want to get into the deeper, more personal topics. And looking at how Jon Batiste remarked how Stephen had some deep and ultimately helpful conversations about Jon and his ailing soon-to-be wife really shine light on how caring Stephen is. Seeing Jon Mulaney and him show gratitude for each other is really beautiful, and some really refreshing authenticity on what’s ultimately a very produced show!

This is why Colbert is the best.

This is such an honest and unexpectedly deep and revealing conversation. Hats off especially to Steven for the ability to be so bold, open and earnest.

This is a perfect example of two men expressing themselves and showing a authentic sense of masculinity with honesty and sincerity.

that whole "I am at my core a happy person and it's okay to protect that" sounds like something from the therapy scene in a very special episode...

I love Stephen reciting things - he always recites things in an excited way that he gets to share this thing that means so much to him that he memorized it.

Stephen: "...set yourself on fire and ran in traffic..." Me: I understood that reference!

Addiction is awful and terrifying... it does not discriminate. It doesn't matter how smart, funny, or wonderful you are as a human being. You feel imprisoned and ashamed. It's admirable that he has the courage to talk about it, and he has a friend to talk it through with. Bravo for this interview. (For me, seven days sober following a recent relapse.)

That was deeper than I thought it would be. Rock on! Love it. ❤

I always love their conversations.

"Not now honey, new Mulaney-Colbert therapy session just dropped"

We so missed you john, so good to have you back to cheer us up.

So love John Mulaney.

i love this new wave in recent years where talk show hosts and comedians who are all friends just have a genuine conversations instead of promo stuff and i hope this never changes

I love it when the conversations get deep and no one can look away from the raw fact that the 'famous' interviewee is an actual, complicated individual. ❤ Thank you both for being open and YOU.

🌿 One of the most delicious shows. I missed Stephan's humor so much it hurt. But I forgot how much I love his introspection, his pulling apart an issue, a book... his own psychology, philosophy, his moral fiber. That search for wisdom is a glorious gift. His quick rejoinder to John's saying he felt if his baby was okay, he'd be okay "& that never goes away" And as a mom of a 35 yr old & a 38 yr old, I can attest to that truth which is something because I often don't feel that old myself - how can my body feel this old but my mind stopped maturing- LOL. Thank you, Stephen, for being worthy of all that is good & for reminding me that there is sanity, that there is wisdom & compassion - an emotional IQ even if we don't see it very often right now. BTW Nancy Mace is not a truth teller. The idea that ANYONE sees Jordan as trustworthy is a Santos level lie, even a trump level falsehood. The ones that make your eyes roll back of their own accord. Yes, Nancy you silly POS, our issues with Jordan are just political differences, they have nothing to do with his ignoring that the children entrusted to him as coach were being raped, when they came to -im for help, making him complicit. It has nothing to do with his playing with the adopted rules of committees so his team can win, his being a vile enraged child of a man without one iota of wisdom, kindness or moral standing. Nancy you proved who & what you are with that one sentence.

Much as I love Stephen's interviews, I love these heart to hearts with his real life friends and associates so much more. It feels so real, genuine and uninhibited. I love it.

Wow, I could listen to these two talk to each other for hours.

Now, this was a conversation, not an interview. I love this so much

The deepest and most remarkable interview I’ve ever seen on late night. 👏🏼 👏🏼 How do you see yourself in the eyes of others?

Wonderful conversation. Love John's new look.

We had our first kid a few months before Malcom Mulaney was born. It's kinda neat to hear John's thoughts on parenthood because it's so darn relatable. If the kid is good, I'm good. 100%

The story of Sir Thomas Moore is one of the most impactful things I remember learning in highschool (at the time I thought he was insane for putting himself and his family through all of that) and I wish we saw more integrity like that in the people we idolize today.

Impactful, genuine and profound. The interaction of two sweet souls. Thank you gentlemen.

I'm always amazed at how much knowledge Stephen has. Damn that man is smart

If only we could all have a friend like Stephen.

I would love to listen to a long form conversation between these two.

I loooove it when Stephen has in-depth conversations with people.

I watch Stephen all the time, have for years, even back to the Daily Show, but have never commented on a segment -- until this episode. I'm a John Mulaney fan and this interview was phenomenal! Such depth and vulnerability by Stephen as they conversed, such intelligence, was wonderful to experience. With gratitude for Stephen, thank you!

We need a lot more of these conversations. And exploring "A Man for All Seasons" is wonderful.

Stephen’s interviews with John are always gems

I have absolutely had the same feelings about "Not wanting to bother people". Other people aren't thinking about me, they have other stuff to do, hanging out with me isn't something they think about, etc. That thinking led me to not putting in effort in one particular friendship, and caused some serious strife. So, to everyone who feels the same, bother the people in your life. Ask them to hang out. If they say no for whatever reason, that is on them; but at least you reached out. Reach out.

I totally understand this. It's more vulnerable to tell three people than thousands of people sitting a bit back and off the stage. They can't ask you questions and you can't typically see if there is judgment on their face.

My ethical core is that I do what I want. Including the good that I want to do and excluding the bad I want to do because I'll consider anything good that I have and the risk of losing them if I do the bad.

Wow! This interview slid from light comedy over my morning coffee to deep moral discussion so fast I had to rewind and pay more attention. Colbert never ceases to amaze me.

My father taught us if you give charity then you never tell that you did. He helped so many people when they couldn’t afford food when he owned a small rural corner store. We never knew until we found the receipt books. He never made them feel it was charity and that he knew they would pay for the groceries someday. He wanted to let these folks maintain their self-worth. Many bills weren’t paid and some were but we never knew until after his death. We honoured his memory by never mentioning this outside of our own family. I was always proud of my dad but never more so when we learned how kind he was to so many in his own very quiet way. We weren’t well-off but he shared what we had, always. ❤