It was just announced earlier today that "
Colbert Report" host,
Stephen Colbert will be replacing legendary late night host,
David Letterman, sometime in 2015. With
Fallon,
Stewart,
O'Brien and
Kimmel already in the late night mix, the decision to hire Colbert is undoubtedly CBS's attempt to capture some of the coveted 18-49 year old viewership. Colbert is no rookie in the late night world. The 49 year old comedian already has a huge fan base from his stint as correspondent on The Daily Show and his own wildly successful show, The Colbert Report, which has been on air since 2005.
Comedy Central released this statement:
“Comedy Central is proud that the incredibly talented Stephen Colbert has been part of our family for nearly two decades. We look forward to the next eight months of the ground-breaking Colbert Report and wish Stephen the very best.”
As a fan of Stephen Colbert's for almost a decade (shameless bragging alert: I've had the privilege of meeting Stephen a few years ago at a book signing and have been an audience member of The Colbert three times), I must say, I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I'm really proud of Stephen. This is a major accomplishment! Having a show at 11:30pm on such a big network is a dream gig for any comedian. Stephen will have the chance to reach a much broader audience now and that can never be a bad thing.
One the other hand, I can't help but selfishly mourn the loss of the witty, satirical masterpiece that is The Colbert Report. Part of the fun of the show has always been Stephen's incredible ability to play his "fool" character. He can say and do things that even The Daily Show couldn't (think: "Who's Attacking Me Now" or Stephen's internet army). What will his "shtick" be now? Will he continue playing a character or will he just be himself? How will he distinguish himself from his fellow "silly" late night hosts? Will he retain any of his political humor? How will the statistically older viewers of CBS react to all of this?
At the end of the day, I wish Stephen the best. Whatever he decides to do, I'm sure it will be hilarious. For now though, let me shed a few tears as I watch old "Better Know a District" clips...
Side note: going forward it would really be nice to have a little more diversity in the late night world. Surely there must be comedians out there that AREN'T middle aged white guys???
