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[TangoAlphaLima]

That's kind of a bummer. I've never really enjoyed any of the late night talk shows. I doubt even Colbert is capable of making that format interesting to me.

Hopefully he'll change the format, rather than the format change him.

 

[Intheflorsh]

RIP one of the most original and consistently entertaining shows ever.

 

[genjiZERO]

as if (most) Daily Show or Colbert Report were noteworthy.

Hi, So you've written a book?
Yes it's about some issue people don't think about often enough
<insert joke>
Thank you for stopping by, thing is on sale now go and buy it.

Trading political commentary with a monolog with topical jokes is the real tragedy.

Oh I agree. The decrease in guest quality was just the first obvious thing I thought of - celebrities are an easy target. But no more The Word - that really stings.

30 minutes more of Colbert AND his writers = worse than the Colbert Report.

Wut?

He's a funny guy and 'friends' with the Tonight Show host. He'll do fine.

The bigger picture man! Colbert Report provides an intelligent benefit to society. The Late Show, while a quality program, does not.

 

[Hiltz]

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I think Colbert is one of the funnier hosts out there, but I'm not sure if I want him to eventually stop the Colbert Report in favor of doing The Late Show.

 

[robotzombie]

WTF? Those guys would be terrible at hosting The Late Show, and I absolutely love them as comedians. I highly doubt either guy would have been interested anyway. Hell, Seinfeld is almost as old as Letterman, he's essentially been in retirement for the last decade.

Haha it is great imagining how much Seinfeld would hate the job though. Interviewing people like Kim Kardashian would make him absolutely miserable

 

[commedieu]

i cant vote.

 

[Giant Panda]

Why wouldn't he? He gets better ratings than Letterman I assume. Those old school 1950 style variety shows like Letterman and Leno are dying off.

Well if CBS somehow let's Colbert just make The Colbert Report on their channel then that would be great, but the far more likely outcome is that Colbert would have to really water down his character, or drop it all together.

 

[legacyzero]

.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

 

[Tom_Cody]

Ya now he can interview celebrities about frivolous bullshit. What a huge step up :/

-1 hour vs. half hour
-Much bigger budget
-Less narrowly focused on politics
-Not restricted to one character (that I have gotten tired of)

I have been of Colbert since Strangers with Candy and his work on the original daily show. I have gotten sick of the Colbert Report; I want to see him do something else and this is a great venue for him.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

He won't get guests if he interviews like on the Colbert Report.

 

[Musolf815]

I'm really not feeling this....it could work out but I just don't see this working.

 

[Check Mark]

Maybe he could have a 10 minute segment of social commentary each night in-character?

Gonna miss the Report, this will be interesting!

 

[rdrr gnr]

Not bad. Hope he occasionally dips into his persona if it has comedic value. But, more importantly, I hope he continues having the edge Letterman had. #cancelcolbert

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I assume CBS has the smarts to not try and dull Colbert. You don't bring him in to pander to the declining older audience. They're trying to capture a younger generation and bring some edge to the timeslot.

 

[xxracerxx]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

I think people are mainly afraid that the usual late-night formula is a step-down for Colbert and his crew.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

People unsure about his ability for late night need to watch his Neil deGrasse Tyson interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg

 

[old]

Great news for him. Looking forward to checking it out.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Strange news---can't help but be pessimistic given the whole CBS aspect. I wonder what is going on behind closed doors at Comedy Central right about now as they try to reckon a course ahead...

 

[JABEE]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

I have faith. I'm just going to miss the old format.

Another question, If the Colbert Report ends in eight months, does that mean Colbert will be on break for an extended period of time waiting for Letterman to retire? Will Letterman leave early?

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

He won't get guests if he interviews like on the Colbert Report.

Totally irrelevant. Talk show guests are only there to sell their shit to the audience. They'll come no matter how badly Colbert messes with them.

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

It's a result of how long Colbert has done the Colbert Report character. People can't see him doing anything else. But he's brilliant, so I suspect the transition will be smooth.

 

[Hari Seldon]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

Not really, it is just that the Letterman format is boring and for old people. Why hire Colbert to go backwords in format?

 

[Ballistik]

This might turn out to be the best decision ever made for a late show host...

 

[JCX]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

Oh no, I know he'll be great at it, because he's been consistently great in other shows. I'm more sad about the loss of the Colbert character and the surrounding political commentary. I'd be glad if we got one more presidential election, but this is the time for him to move on to bigger things.

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

Wow, yeah. Really not sure how to feel.

On one hand, I'm sure he'll be great. On the other, no more Report.

But I'm confident this will still be great. Stephen Colbert followed by Craig Ferguson? That's a hell of a line-up.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

I assume CBS has the smarts to not try and dull Colbert. You don't bring him in to pander to the declining older audience. They're trying to capture a younger generation and bring some edge to the timeslot.

This. Same thing Fallon has done with The Tonight Show.

There's a lot of "I love Colbert, he's smart and hilarious! Too bad he's going to suck if he isn't exactly doing the thing I'm used to seeing" going on 'round here.

 

[Brakke]

I for one welcome our new Network overlords; picking up Colbert over the air in my house is much better than catching him every few months in a hotel.

 

[Grym]

People unsure about his ability for late night need to watch his Neil deGrasse Tyson interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg

This. Good stuff

 

[Fenderputty]

Well that's exciting. Good for him. Hope he keeps to his persona to some extent. I'm excited he'll reach a wide audience. I just hope the shows structure won't prevent him from being more neutral.

 

[Hyperactivity]

B..But the Colbert Report


NOOOOOOOO

 

[commanderpepper]

I believe Colbert and the staff at the CR will be great in their new jobs. I'm just sad that the persona and the play between his persona and actual personality will be loss.

 

[yuraya]

Why do people believe he will have to change his act? At the end of the day these guys are all some type of comedians. He got to where he is with his style. I doubt he will change that much. I don't think he will change for the opening that much nor he will change for the guest interviews. People are forgetting these older guys like Leno and Letterman just weren't as energetic with the audience towards the end of their careers. They were more laid back than they were filled with crazy sense of humors. The only thing I really see Colbert doing differently is probably not saying the word "Nation" all that much because late night show isn't as political as the comedy central stuff.

Regardless I think its a great choice. I kind of wanted it to be either him or Stewart. Glad they chose one of them.

 

[fallagin]

Woah, that's pretty wild. I am sincerely interested in how he is going to play himself on this show. Guess we shall see in a year or two.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Here's a video of him out of character talking to John Kerry in the Colbert backstage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfiL2hpnmZ0

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

boring choice. I'm not happy

not that it matters. I haven't watched any late night talk shows in years

 

[FLEABttn]

For as much as some people seem to swear by Colbert, there doesn't seem to be a lot of faith in his ability to deliver in a different format

My lack of faith isn't directed at Colbert, it's directed at CBS.

 

[perfectchaos007]

That Grantland article by Bill Simmons was right

http://grantland.com/features/david-letterman-retires-cbs/

Now we&#8217;re already thinking about the Next Next Guy &#8212; within 12 hours of Letterman&#8217;s stunning announcement, names like Tina Fey, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres and even Conan were being thrown around for his job. I will spare you the suspense &#8212; it&#8217;s going to be Colbert. Well, unless he has three more Twitter debacles or something. He&#8217;s getting that job.

wow

 

[SlowRevolution]

They wouldn't hire Colbert minus the persona. Defeats the purpose of hiring him.

Bill Carter said Colbert's dropping the character for Late Show.

 

[mattiewheels]

I think people are mainly afraid that the usual late-night formula is a step-down for Colbert and his crew.

Not only that, but the demographic CBS chases for Late Night (older folks) dictates that he won't be able to do a risky show like old Letterman once did, but a safe and corny show like current Letterman always does.

But obviously the Report demands a lot out of him creatively so I bet he's exhausted after a decade and wouldn't mind doing some easier shows.

 

[Interfectum]

fake colbert or real colbert?

 

[kaching]

I have a hard time believing he would sign on for it without being granted a large amount of creative control.

I've read that he's a great admirer of Letterman so he may very well not want to change the format much. From his perspective, it'll still be a significant change from what he's been doing the last 10-15 yrs. I'm sure he has been granted all of the creative control he could want, just not sure whether he'll really want to break the mold that much.

If this is the case then I'd be open to it. I've rarely if ever seen him not play "that" character though. That is his schtick.

If you watch his show regularly, there are plenty of skits and segments where the political persona isn't really the driving focus and you get a good sense of his "generic" comedic talent. Stuff like his music video for Daft Punk's Get Lucky is utterly non-political. He's also well-read and has a decent singing voice. He's easily got the chops for a formal late night gig.

 

[B.O.O.M]

bummer I will miss the Colbert report

 

[Akahige]

So will Jon Stewart get an hour on CC?

 

[thefro]

https://twitter.com/James_Hibberd/status/454290429367042048

Awesome, their writing staff is amazing.

Colbert will be great with his improv background. I'm sure he'll still do skits and stuff.

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

nooooooooooooooooooo I love the colbert report! :O
me = sad

 

[Jack Scofield]

Stephen knows what he's doing. Obviously he felt the need to step away from the Colbert Report after all these years, so it's not like CBS is stealing anyone away from anything.I'm curious how he's going to announce this on his show, though. Will he break character?

 

[Tamanon]

Hopefully Esteban's show continues on Univision so he can check in now and again.

 

[SteveWinwood]

I wanna know how people will react to actual Stephen Colbert and not the "Stephen Colbert" he portrayed for so many years.

I think there will be a large initial backlash. People will think CBS made him change or something.

 

[davepoobond]

Wow. What the hell.

Colbert report is gone in 8 months regardless it seems? That sucks! I just started watching again

I wonder what they're planning for that time slot on Comedy Central then? Is it going to be another "news show" I wonder?

 

[Raxus]

My lack of faith isn't directed at Colbert, it's directed at CBS.

CBS does have Ferguson though. Aside from curbing the F-bombs a bit I don't much problems for Colbert.