Stephen Colbert's Late Show uses the Friends theme to explain what's going on with Paul Manafort and Rick Gates
There's been a lot of legal drama in U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis' federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, this week as Rick Gates testifies against Paul Manafort, his former business partner and former campaign manager for President Trump. But there's also been the human drama of Gates flipping on and incriminating his mentor and friend. This could be the stuff of Oscar-worthy Hollywood cinema or Greek tragedy, but The Late Show turned it into a parody of the Friends theme song.
The Manafort trial is not being televised, but Stephen Colbert's crew has actually been pretty creative with the Manafort set pieces. You can watch some other highlights below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The biggest astronomy stories of 2025In the spotlight From moons, to comets, to pop stars in orbit
-
The 8 best comedy movies of 2025the week recommends Filmmakers find laughs in both familiar set-ups and hopeless places
-
‘Care fractures after birth’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
