Yes, Stephen Colbert is assuming the throne of The Late Show.
David Letterman announced his retirement last week and since
then, there has been much speculation as to who will succeed the legend.
Today, CBS confirmed that Colbert too will be leaving his show, The Colbert Report, in order to assume
the vacant position on The Late Show.
The major question is this: are we losing one of the great late
night presences in this transaction, or two? Letterman has been toting jokes
for over 30 years at the desk and we all knew his retirement was coming soon. But will
Colbert (silent t), the late night pundit of deadpan mockery, make way for
Colbert (hard t), the intelligent and personable goofball? Are both Letterman and Colbert retiring? I
hope not (at least not entirely).
Watching any interviews with Stephen when he’s out of
character is always a real treat. It allows us to see his other side and become
aware of how ridiculous his conservative alter-ego really is. But it almost
seems as if the real Stephen is how he spends less of his time, and pundit-Colbert
is what he needs to be (I have no issue saying Colbert is Batman).
If he is to take on a traditional talk show, there is the looming
question of how Stephen Colbert will show up. Is he really leaving pundit-Colbert to exist only in the memory of The Report? Regardless of what he
does, the man is endlessly funny. I hope he keeps the zany character that made
him famous, perhaps in the background or during skits, but I think we all want
that. It would be too much to bear to see the loss of Letterman and Colbert
(silent t) in one week.
That said, while Letterman will be sorely missed, Stephen is
probably the best possible choice on television today to replace him. I can't wait to see what he does, and how he'll grow as a comedian in the new position. Good luck
to him and let the Nation enjoy.
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