Stephen Colbert Kicks Off His Late Night Run
“The comedy landscape is so thickly planted with the forest of Dave’s ideas, that we sometimes need to remind ourselves how tall he stands. So just for the record, I’m not replacing David Letterman. His creative legacy is a high pencil mark on a door frame that we all have to measure ourselves against. But we will try to honor his achievement by doing the best show we can, and occasionally making the network very mad at us.”
Late Night history last night or at least Late Show history, as Stephen Colbert took his place at his new desk, on a new set at the Ed Sullivan Theater as the second host to add his name to the Late Show moniker.
A prerecorded bit of Colbert singing “The Star Spangled Banner” with the help of some random faces at various locations throughout New York and America opened the show with a quick cameo from a very special guest star– Jon Stewart– who officially opened the show proclaiming “Play Ball” as he stepped into frame in an umpire uniform.
Inside the Ed Sullivan Theater a very excited crowd welcomed Colbert chanting Stephen! Stephen! Stephen! as Colbert made his first appearance as CBS’s new Late Show host. Colbert kicked off the show with an enthusiastic “Hello Nation” vowing to begin his search for the real Stephen Colbert– not the character he portrayed on The Colbert Report.
Colbert paid tribute to his predecessor, David Letterman, calling himself a first generation David Letterman fan, and praising Dave for changing the landscape of comedy. “The comedy landscape is so thickly planted with the forest of Dave’s ideas,” Colbert said, “that we sometimes need to remind ourselves how tall he stands. So just for the record, I’m not replacing David Letterman. His creative legacy is a high pencil mark on a door frame that we all have to measure ourselves against. But we will try to honor his achievement by doing the best show we can, and occasionally making the network very mad at us.”
As Colbert showed off his new set which included a video wall, another big cameo from an unexpected place– a video greeting from Jimmy Fallon. Arch competitors? Nah, there’s no competition in Late Night. Everything is nice. Fallon and Colbert shared a few words that ended with Fallon saying “have a good show buddy, see you in the locker room.” Earlier in the day, Fallon wished everyone on the Late Show good luck, saying “break a finger!”
Carson had Ed McMahon, Letterman had Paul to chat with, even Craig Ferguson had Geoff, and Colbert has his own sidekick to check in with, an ancient cursed amulet that drones on when its displeased and enjoys Sabra Hummus.
Later, Colbert had short sit down interviews with his first guests, George Clooney and presidential candidate Jeb Bush and Colbert joined in with musical guest Mavis Staples and a stage full of great musicians. No games or karaoke with the guests for Colbert, at least not yet, but it looks we can expect a singing Colbert on at least a semi-regular basis.
Reactions to the first show on Twitter were mixed, ranging from excited five star reviews and excited congratulations to disappointment with some calling the show a rehash of The Colbert Show.
Later this week, Colbert will be joined by guests Scarlett Johansson, Elon Musk, Kendrick Lamar, Joe Biden, Toby Keith, Travis Kalanick, Amy Schumer, Stephen King, and musical guest Troubled Waters. Colbert has already announced next week’s roster, which includes Kevin Spacey, Carol Burnett, Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, Willie Nelson, Emily Blunt, Justice Stephen Breyer, Bernie Sanders and more.
Tune in weeknights at 11:35pm to see what happens next in Late Night. Welcome back Stephen.
