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Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman on The Late Show

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See You Next Wednesday said:
LIMITED?
His entire career was made from his character.

Without it, no one knows him or cares about him.
He is just another shmuck without his satirist conservative character.

The Late Show will bomb hard.
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Oh? I thought shows like Strangers with Candy moved him along. Particularly a certain show called The Daily Show, where he most definitely did not play a Bill O'Reilly type of conservative. I actually miss his presence on there sometimes, because he was no less hilarious in that role. Yes, The Colbert Report took his fame to a new level, but that was never a given, either. I'm sure there were plenty of people like you wondering why anyone would care to see this fake news correspondent pretend to be a conservative caricature.

He's in a far better position to succeed now than he was then, though, regardless of the people who don't care to use their imagination to consider how something they've yet to see may succeed.
 
I don't know how to feel, in this day an age "The Late Show" and "Tonight Show" are not the same coveted TV spots that every American watches. In many respects Colbert's shift to "The Late Show" is a step down from his current position. The Carson era type late show is much more light-hearted and campy, it isn't mean to be "edgy" or really commentate on world events past a a short opening monologue. Meanwhile, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are much more on the edge, they are covering real issues and pointing out the hypocrisy in politics and the media. They serve a more important role than the "The Late Show" these days.

So if Colbert's Late Show has to slide back into a Carson type routine then I truly do think it's a large step backwards. But, we don't know what the show will be like so we'll have to wait. I also don't have a problem with Colbert stepping out of character, he's just as funny out of character as he is in character, what I'm worried about is the content and format of the show.
 
I had a feeling Colbert would land the job. It's a great choice. I'd love to see him doing that format for late night, as while I love The Colbert Report I'm not sure if he intended to do that for another 10-15 years.
 
See You Next Wednesday said:
LIMITED?
His entire career was made from his character.

Without it, no one knows him or cares about him.
He is just another shmuck without his satirist conservative character.

The Late Show will bomb hard.
Click to expand...

We don't know this. A comedian that can create and pull off a character can certainly be capable of more than that.
 
If he can retain at lease some of the character and sharp social/political commentary, I'm very much on board.

I'm worried that CBS forces him to either abandon the political aspect altogether, or adopt the "both sides" fallacy.
 
See You Next Wednesday said:
LIMITED?
His entire career was made from his character.

Without it, no one knows him or cares about him.
He is just another shmuck without his satirist conservative character.

The Late Show will bomb hard.
Click to expand...

The overall Internet reaction suggests that a lot of people care about RL Stephen Colbert.

Also, just because you are ignorant of his work outside of TDS/CR doesn't make that the only thing he did or is able to do. Guy is a brilliant comedy writer, performer and is naturally funny to boot (see: every interview he's ever done out of character).
 
Dr.Acula said:
With cable TV, the way they started generating money was through commercials, which they could sell based off Nielsen ratings. Before that, it was more common for the shows themselves to be directly sponsored or to feature product placements, like with the old soap operas, or game shows.

I think with cord cutting and the move to online, youtube, etc, product placement, torrent downloads, and viral views becomes much more integral.

The question isn't what demo CBS tries to chase, but HOW they try and chase it.

Look at Conan, he gets paid to do Clueless gamer bits. What generates more money? Conan doing a five minute bit on a game and getting hundreds of thousands of online views and viral impressions, or selling a 30 second spot on TBS that people may not even see because of TiVo, or because they torrented it?

Television is changing rapidly, and the new landscape requires new strategies.
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You're right about that. I'd say this new Late Show with Colbert will be the test for whether those execs know how to transition to a new kind of show...or just stick to the old format and truly are just out of touch.
 
kmax said:
wait-what-gif.gif
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The most apt use of that gif ever.
 
Is Stephen Colbert even going to go by the French (?) pronunciation of his name anymore? I thought he adopted that just for his persona.

I really dislike the late night talk show format and hope Colbert does something dramatically different. As it is there's 40 minutes of celebrity interviews plugging a movie and the first 20 minute monologue/skit are only decent. It's a staid, boring production. And they always annoying say "We've got a great show for you tonight" after the monologue when that was kind of 90% of the reason I tuned in.

The Colbert Report never lacked for energy, pizazz, wit, or insight. Man this sucks, The Colbert Report was the late night definition of reliable.
 
Good for him, but I'm disappointed it wasn't someone else. I like him where he is currently. I don't see him as a late-night Talk-Show host.
 
I'm a bit conflicted on this. I love Colbert and his humor, but personally, I don't see this as being the right format for him and his style of comedy.

Also, will this be the Steven Colbert persona with the pronounceable "T", or will this be the Colbert with the silent "T"?
 
Seanspeed said:
Are you really going to revist this thread years from now in order to feel smug about a prediction you made about a CBS talkshow?
Click to expand...

yes.

i will probably forget about this thread by monday

On the real though I think he is a much better interviewer than any current talk show host, and as funny out of character as in character. The Neil deGrasse Tyson interview is a great example.
 
Nerokis said:
You sure about that? The Late Show has a much, much bigger audience than The Colbert Report. For a lot of people, the jokes and skits and interviews on these late night shows are the filter through which they view current events. I'm sure Jimmy Fallon making fun of a politician stings much more than Stephen Colbert doing so, at least in his current position.

This will allow Colbert to flex his satirist muscles in a different way. To a degree, he's limited by the preexisting structure these shows have, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing a new side of him in the limelight.

The Colbert Report couldn't go on forever, anyway. And there's a lot of talent to go around. I'm interested in seeing who takes his place.
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He's actually limited to what audience the Late Show is supposed to cater to. Up till now it's been older folks who just finished watching the news. That's why Letterman never did anything that brilliant after he left 1:30. Whether the execs want to change this or not is the key, though.
 
xtrasauce said:
The overall Internet reaction suggests that a lot of people care about RL Stephen Colbert.

Also, just because you are ignorant of his work outside of TDS/CR doesn't make that the only thing he did or is able to do. Guy is a brilliant comedy writer, performer and is naturally funny to boot (see: every interview he's ever done out of character).
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Could you post a few links? I don't think I've seen anything with him out of character
 
Ecotic said:
Is Stephen Colbert even going to go by the French (?) pronunciation of his name anymore? I thought he adopted that just for his persona.
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He started pronouncing his last name without the T during college. His father had wanted to pronounce his name that way but kept it the original way and told his kids they could pronounce it however they want. It's not just his character's name, it's his actual name.
 
Ever sicne Colbert started I was under the impression he would eventually take over the Daily Show and form a full hour slot for CC.

This is just filling my head with Wat. I'm even more surprised CC let him go then CBS picking him up. Now I'm just confused about how its even going to work. Theres no way he could do that show in character, but theres no way I can see him NOT doing it either. And what happens to CC now? We gonna get the Al Madrigal half-time show? They could bring brit-john back I guess, he kind of just disappeared. I guess im OT now, uhg.
 
mattiewheels said:
He's actually limited to what audience the Late Show is supposed to cater to. Up till now it's been older folks who just finished watching the news. That's why Letterman never did anything that brilliant after he left 1:30. Whether the execs want to change this or not is the key, though.
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I think whether a mainstream audience is ready for that change is even more key. I have no doubt that Colbert will come out swinging with edgier material than what the current Late Show audience is used to; if the ratings are good he'll probably push the edge even further and even the execs won't be able to stop him.
 
I...don't like this. Haven't missed a Colbert episode since 2008 when I started regularly watching. It's pretty much the only show I watch. Not a fan of late night talk shows either.
 
genjiZERO said:
Yeah. Colbert Report is fine social commentary. The Late Show is mainstream celebrity gossip and frivolity. This is absolutely terrible.
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I can't imagine Colbert would've taken this gig if he didn't have some big ideas for what he could do for the show in that vein. I'm excited to see what he comes up with.
 
Good choice. End or an era. I'm goint to miss Dave :( I've been watching his antics for nearly 20 years.

I've watched Colbert since the beginning so I'll be missing that too.
 
I'm sure Colbert, even without playing his character from the Report, will do a great job with this as he seems to be a genuinely funny and talented guy. That being said I wish he would've gone in another direction as I find most late night talk shows boring.
 
Wow, I was looking up John Stewart reactions and I found this belated hit piece on him by a Slate writer that has weird timing coming out yesterday.
 
Doctoglethorpe said:
Ever sicne Colbert started I was under the impression he would eventually take over the Daily Show and form a full hour slot for CC.

This is just filling my head with Wat. I'm even more surprised CC let him go then CBS picking him up. Now I'm just confused about how its even going to work. Theres no way he could do that show in character, but theres no way I can see him NOT doing it either. And what happens to CC now? We gonna get the Al Madrigal half-time show? They could bring brit-john back I guess, he kind of just disappeared. I guess im OT now, uhg.
Click to expand...

John Oliver didn't disappear. He's got his own show on HBO now, starting at the end of this month. And if Community gets picked up for another season, I imagine he'll make some appearance there too.
 
This news makes me pretty happy. I've followed Colbert since I was about 15, so it's a cool thing to see someone I've always known come up in things like this.

He's got a real sense of decency about him when he's out of character, which I think will play really well. Also, he will definitely bring some new elements to he late night format which is generally stagnant and bland these days. I expect he'll experiment and take some risks with the kinds of comedy and guests he has on the show.

To the people who aren't happy he will be leaving his character behind - I mean, is it really worth him turning down the big leagues to keep on poking fun at aberrant loonies and Fox News? The kind of satire he was doing is being done, and will be done well, by plenty of other people. He was getting stagnant, and I think it's a great choice to move on. We'll have had 10 years of the Colbert Report. Things shouldn't last forever. I'm really happy for him.
 
real_slime said:
This news makes me pretty happy. I've followed Colbert since I was about 15, so it's a cool thing to see someone I've always known come up in things like this.

He's got a real sense of decency about him when he's out of character, which I think will play really well. Also, he will definitely bring some new elements to he late night format which is generally stagnant and bland these days. I expect he'll experiment and take some risks with the kinds of comedy and guests he has on the show.

To the people who aren't happy he will be leaving his character behind - I mean, is it really worth him turning down the big leagues to keep on poking fun at aberrant loonies and Fox News? The kind of satire he was doing is being done, and will be done well, by plenty of other people. He was getting stagnant, and I think it's a great choice to move on. I'm really happy for him.
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what? Who? Where?
 
Holy shit I'm devastated. I've been religiously following the Colbert Nation since 2006 and now Stephen is leaving for canned formulaic comedy ? One of the best political satirists in recent history will be delivering cheap double entendres about Kim and Justin ?
 
Out of curiousity, what would be people's suggestions for non-white men and female future hosts of the late show or a similar late night show?
 
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