__twocolumncontent.jpg)
It’s official: Stephen Colbert will succeed David Letterman in the host’s chair at CBS’ “The Late Show,” the network announced Thursday.
CBS boss Leslie Moonves and entertainment chief Nina Tassler said Colbert will sign a five-year hosting deal, but they did not give a start date for Colbert. Comedy Central confirmed that he would continue hosting it’s “Colbert Report” for eight more months.
Moonves and Tassler laid out their succession plans for the flagship late night property with relative speed, a week after Letterman surprised his studio audience by saying he would step down in 2015.
Letterman put his public stamp of approval on the pick shortly after Colbert was revealed as his chosen heir.
“Stephen has always been a real friend to me. I’m very excited for him, and I’m flattered that CBS chose him,” Letterman said in a statement Thursday. “I also happen to know they wanted another guy with glasses.”
Colbert took care Thursday to kiss the Letterman ring and return the praise.
“Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career. I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late-night follows Dave’s lead. I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me,” Colbert said in CBS’ statement unveiling the move. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.”
Yet to be revealed: where the show would be taped. New York City and Los Angeles have engaged in a very public courtship of Moonves since Letterman announced his retirement, with the City of Angels particularly interested in wooing “The Late Show” to the West Coast from it’s current NYC home. With Colbert already based in New York, it’s a safe bet that the show stays put.
L.A. has been reduced to one locally-taped 11:35pm show—Jimmy Kimmel on ABC—since NBC moved the revamped “Tonight Show” to the Big Apple when Jimmy Fallon took over the host’s chair in February.
But CBS’ statement Thursday hinted that the network was entertaining the possibility of a cross-country move to L.A., saying “specific creative elements, as well as the producers and the location for the Colbert-hosted ‘Late Show,’ will be determined and announced at a later date.”
As for Comedy Central, the network wished Colbert well, even as the move opens up a big hole in their own late night schedule.
“Comedy Central is proud that the incredibly talented Stephen Colbert has been part of our family for nearly two decades,” the network said in a statement. “We look forward to the next eight months of the ground-breaking ‘Colbert Report’ and wish Stephen the very best.”
Colbert will reportedly bring his Emmy-winning writing staff with him to CBS, meaning Comedy Central is working with a blank slate at 11:30pm. One obvious choice as replacement—John Oliver—has already jumped ship to HBO.
And there’s no guarantee that the network would replace Colbert with another talk show, even though that format has filled the time slot on the Comedy Central schedule since “Colbert Report” began in 2005.
One in-house possibility, though, if Comedy Central did stick with the talk format: Chris Hardwick, who hosts “@midnight” immediately after Colbert.
Thursday’s announcement ushers in the final piece of the rejuvenation puzzle in late-night broadcast television, which has seen relatively little change or turnover since Letterman and Jay Leno ascended to their respective hosting chairs in the early ‘90s.
When Colbert finally does take Letterman’s place some time in 2015, all three network late-night shows will be helmed by funnymen well-versed in the digital and social media space, with devoted fan bases among a younger generation of viewers. As with Fallon—and to a lesser degree Kimmel—Colbert is an all-around showman rather than just a stand-up comic.
CBS indicated that Colbert’s versatility was part of what sealed the deal for the “Late Show” gig.
”He is a presence on every stage, with interests and notable accomplishments across a wide spectrum of entertainment, politics, publishing and music,” CBS’ Tassler said Thursday.
One thing that will not be coming to CBS is the caricature of a right-wing TV host that Colbert has created over the past decade at Comedy Central. He’ll take over “The Late Show” as the real Colbert.
“I won’t be doing the new show in character, so we’ll all get to find out how much of him was me,” he said in a statement released through his publicist Thursday.
Read More: The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, CBS News
Brief Take: Each of the broadcast networks has now laid the foundation for luring a new generation of late-night viewers who haven’t yet had a reason to tune in at 11:35pm. CBS is signaling that they’re ready to shed their reputation as a haven for older viewers and welcome a talent that speaks to younger audiences, and has a firm understanding of the digital space, social media, and pop culture.
Tags: