The Colbert Nation is growing.
Stephen Colbert’s debut as host of The Late Show on Tuesday was a star-studded affair, not only with guests George Clooney and Jeb Bush, but even CBS’ very own Leslie Moonves and a surprise appearance by Jon Stewart in the opening below:
It was also a ratings boost, pulling in 6.6 million viewers for its premiere episode, which made it the most-watched late-night show on Tuesday. Its ratings success also translated into ratings success for Late Late Show’s James Corden, which hit 1.9 million.
Colbert was also a hit on social media feedback, generating 10 million impressions on Twitter with 64,000 tweets, according to Nielsen Social. The Late Show topped its Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings chart for the day.
Colbert’s Late Show started much like any other, but quickly changed course when he moved to his familiar desk and digital wall after several “Stephen” chants. Colbert’s digital wall was also put into play with a special appearance by Jimmy Fallon, a nice gesture from the two hosts to show they won’t play into ratings battles or late-night wars.
Moonves was there for an ongoing gag that could mean replacing Colbert with Mentalist reruns at any moment, a power that he used several times (that also served as a cross-promotional opportunity for CBS).
The first segment also had The Late Show’s first product placement with Sabra hummus, a clever piece of branded content done only the way Colbert can - hesitantly and with the help of an ancient god. Big advertisers also flocked to the big night, with Ford, Hotels.com and Pandora taking over ad breaks.
Colbert even got his long-awaited Trump moment.
“I promise you just like the rest of the media, I will be covering all the presidential candidates… who are Donald Trump.” The gag turned into another brand moment with Oreos:
First guest George Clooney was a meeting of charming minds, where they made up an action movie Clooney could star in (complete with clip), culminating with Colbert’s wedding gift for his guest.
Colbert’s discussion with presidential candidate Jeb Bush proved to be an honest discussion of politics that allowed Colbert to move away from his former conservative pundit character while remaining savvy about policy and election tactics.
The first Colbert-hosted Late Show ended with a musical performance by Jon Batiste and his band Stay Human, joined by Ben Folds, Brittany Howard, Buddy Guy, Aloe Blacc, Derek Trucks, Kyle Resnick and Mavis Staples, singing Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.”
The Late Show continues its first week with guests Scarlett Johansson, Elon Musk and Kendrick Lamar on Wednesday night.
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