Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

No joke: Stephen Colbert signed as Letterman’s replacement

The host of Comedy Central’s ‘Colbert Report’ will take over CBS’s ‘Late Show’

Well, you can stop with all those Top Ten lists of candidates to replace David Letterman as the host of CBS's  Late Show. We have a winner: Stephen Colbert.

Moving with surprising swiftness, CBS signed the Comedy Central star to a five-year deal. (His contract with the cable outlet expires at the end of this year.) Colbert is expected to take over the big desk at CBS sometime next summer.

It was exactly a week ago that Letterman, who turns 67 next week, announced that he planned to retire next year. Although Colbert, 49, was among the rumored candidates to replace him, the announcement still took the industry unawares.

"Stephen Colbert is one of the most inventive and respected forces on television," said CBS CEO Leslie Moonves. "David Letterman's legacy and accomplishments are an incredible source of pride for all of us here, and today's announcement speaks to our commitment of upholding what he established for CBS in late night."

Negotiations reportedly advanced rapidly after Colbert's agent, James Dixon, notified Moonves of his client's interest. Both sides said they were intent on getting Letterman's endorsement before proceeding. "Dave was very happy," Moonves said. "He was very supportive and said it was a great choice."

Colbert, a recent Emmy winner, got his start as a correspondent on The Daily Show and spun off The Colbert Report behind his mock personality as a bloviating conservative talking head. But he has potential for far more than spoofery, as Daily Show host and mentor Jon Stewart pointed out.

"He's done an amazing job with just that very narrow cast of character," said Stewart, "but he's got a lot more he can show. He's got some skill sets that are really applicable, interviewing-wise, but also he's a really, really good actor and also an excellent improvisational comedian. He's also got great writing skills. He's got a lot of the different capacities. Being able to expand upon [those] would be exciting."

In a statement on Thursday Mr. Colbert said: "I won't be doing the new show in character, so we'll all get to find out how much of him was me. I'm looking forward to it." That means no more Top of the Hat, Wag of the Finger, although Colbert has indicated his intention to bring his writing staff over to Late Show.

The move will set off yet another game of late night chairs. Comedy Central will have to fill Colbert's 11:30 p.m. slot, and Craig Feguson, who follows Letterman on The Late Late Show could also conceivably bolt after being passed over by CBS.

OK, you can start generating Top Ten lists again.

Read more Dave on Demand or follow him on Twitter @DaveOnDemand_TV