Late-night king Stephen Colbert got real about his soft spot for “weak characters” during a packed New York Comedy Festival bash marking 25 years since Comedy Central yanked the plug on his cult-hit Strangers With Candy.

The 61-year-old CBS funnyman joined co-stars Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello onstage Saturday night for a no-holds-barred Q&A moderated by Kate McKinnon, dishing on the show’s twisted legacy and why portraying buttoned-up flops like high school history teacher Chuck Noblet hits so close to home.

“I love really weak characters,” Colbert declared to cheers from the crowd at the Gramercy Theatre. “He’s very buttoned up, very high-status. Very weak, very afraid. Totally unexamined. That’s what I loved about him, is that he would never push the lens on himself.”

The event celebrated the quirky anniversary of the series’ end—not its premiere—in 2000, after three seasons of spoofing cheesy ’70s and ’80s after-school specials. Strangers With Candy followed 46-year-old ex-junkie Jerri Blank (Sedaris) rebooting high school life amid a parade of dysfunctional faculty, including Noblet and art teacher Geoffrey Jellineck (Dinello).

Colbert’s take on his go-to roles stole the show. Asked what Noblet reveals about his “shadow self,” he admitted: “My shadow self is very much like Noblet… very self-serious, doesn’t want anyone to know how frightened he is all the time; is willing to shut down anyone in order to win an argument.”

When pressed on why he keeps channeling these poorly informed, flawed types—from Noblet to his blowhard Colbert Report persona—Colbert dropped a gem: “To name it so I don’t become that person.” It’s a peek into the funnyman’s psyche, showing how satire serves as therapy, keeping his own demons at bay through on-screen exaggeration.

Fans packed the house, many in Jerri Blank wigs and Noblet bow ties, chanting lines like “The tragic irony of the Trojan War…” as clips rolled. One standout: a season one bit where Flatpoint High stages an all-white A Raisin in the Sun, with Black students as props like the fridge and tree.

“We shot that, cut it; before we could get it on the air, a school in Maine put on an all-white Raisin in the Sun,” Colbert quipped, drawing gasps and laughs. The episode aired anyway, cementing the show’s fearless edge.

Sedaris, 64, lit up recounting the trio’s broke-but-bonded days. “We were very tight, we were very poor, and I don’t know, we liked each other,” she said, echoing a 2019 Vulture chat. Dinello, 62, joked about their improv roots from Exit 57, the 1995 sketch show that birthed Strangers.

The cancellation tale? Pure chaos. “We never got the final word,” Colbert revealed. At the 2000 upfronts, Comedy Central simply omitted the show from the schedule. “No one ever said, ‘You’re canceled.’ They just stopped sending the checks.” The cast begged for closure to pen a finale, but got stonewalled with “no decision has been made.”

Undeterred, they wrapped the saga in the 2005 film prequel, a Sundance hit that faced release delays over clearances but grossed $2 million on a shoestring budget. Shout! Factory just dropped a 20th-anniversary Blu-ray in July, with a restored IFC screening in March featuring the cast and moderator Cole Escola.

Strangers With Candy, created with Mitch Rouse, ran Sundays at 10 p.m. ET from 1999-2000. Each 22-minute ep packed morals-gone-wrong: Jerri dates her son, teachers hook up in closets, Principal Onyx Blackman (Greg Hollimon) spouts egomania. Critics hailed it a “miracle” for its boundary-pushing laughs, influencing Bottoms, Dicks: The Musical, and comics like Ilana Glazer.

Colbert’s Noblet—syphilis-spouting history buff with a secret Jellineck fling—nailed the closeted ’90s vibe. Iconic lines? “Historically, syphilis is right up there with Germans.” Or confiscating Jerri’s note: “My vagina is on fire.”

The panel overflowed with behind-the-scenes gold. Sedaris admitted early pilots had her in Halloween-level makeup. Dinello recalled pranks like fake sex spills on strangers, forging their “lifetime three-way friendship.”

McKinnon, a SNL vet, grilled them on legacy. Colbert tied it back: Weak characters expose fears, letting audiences laugh at shared flaws. “It changed the rulebook,” Sedaris echoed fans’ words.

Social media exploded post-event. THR’s tweet racked 12K views overnight. One fan gushed: “Colbert’s passion for ‘weak characters’ highlights vulnerability and humor. #ComedyGold.” Reddit threads lit up, calling it “the funniest show ever written”.

Colbert, fresh off The Late Show’s election specials, credited the gig for his Colbert Report launch in 2005. “Noblet taught me to lean into the unexamined life,” he said.

Sedaris plugged streaming on Paramount+, urging newbies: “It’s deranged delight.” Dinello teased a Wigfield book sequel—their 2003 mock travelogue.

As lights dimmed, the trio bowed to standing ovations. Colbert wrapped: “25 years canceled, but we’re still strangers with candy.”

In a comedy world chasing viral hits, Strangers With Candy endures as a reminder: True laughs come from owning weakness. Colbert’s not just hosting late night—he’s still channeling Noblet, one flawed quip at a time.

The festival crowd left buzzing, proving this cult classic’s sweetness never sours.