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Colbert to Succeed Letterman on ‘Late Show’
By BILL CARTERAPRIL 10, 2014
CBS made its choice, quickly and definitively: Stephen Colbert is the successor to David Letterman as the star of “Late Show,” the late-night franchise created by Mr. Letterman.
CBS made the announcement Thursday, exactly one week after Mr. Letterman announced on his program that he would be leaving his post after one more year on the air.
Mr. Colbert, the star of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” became the immediate front-runner for the position both because of the increasing recognition of his talent — he won the Emmy Award for best late night host last year — and because he clearly wanted the job. Mr. Colbert’s representation had ensured that he would be available to CBS by syncing his recent contracts with Mr. Letterman’s.
Mr. Colbert’s current deal with Comedy Central will expire at the end of this year, making the timing ideal for him to make the switch to CBS.
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The show Mr. Colbert produces for CBS will be significantly different from “The Colbert Report” because Mr. Colbert will not bring with him the satirical right-wing blowhard character he has performed as during his nine-year run on Comedy Central.
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.”
Leslie Moonves, the CBS chief executive, who was the primary mover in getting the deal done, said the negotiations moved at a breakneck pace beginning the day Mr. Letterman announced his plans. He said a host of calls came in from representatives with comics seeking the job. But when Mr. Colbert’s agent, James Dixon, called to express Mr. Colbert’s interest, the talks became serious quickly.
The five-year deal was not difficult to conclude, Mr. Moonves said, because both sides were equally interested. But he said that Mr. Colbert had one special request: “He said, ‘I want to be sure Dave is on board.’ ” Mr. Moonves said he had already decided that “it was essential to me to get Dave’s blessing.”
So he called and spoke to the star personally to let him know the network was leaning toward hiring Mr. Colbert. “Dave was very happy,” Mr. Moonves said. “He was very supportive and said it was a great choice.”
In a statement, Mr. Letterman said: “Stephen has always been a real friend to me. I’m very excited for him, and I’m flattered that CBS chose him. I also happen to know they wanted another guy with glasses.”
Mr. Moonves and other CBS executives stressed Mr. Colbert’s range of talents, setting up the changes he is likely to make when he moves to the broader medium of late night on a network.
Mr. Colbert, 49, has demonstrated that he can do more than his mostly political satire. He won a Grammy Award for his musical Christmas special, “A Colbert Christmas,” in 2009, and starred as Harry in a 2011 production of “Company” by the New York Philharmonic. His Comedy Central show has won three awards for best writing for a variety show and two Peabody Awards.
Unlike many other late-night hosts, Mr. Colbert has been comfortable as a product pitchman on his show, integrating into it products ranging from Halls cough drops to Budweiser beer. Sometimes Mr. Colbert has segments that seem connected to branded entertainment deals, but are actually parodies of the conventions of late-night television. Frequently those segments have been about Doritos snack chips.
Mr. Colbert also recently became a pitchman in actual commercials, for Wonderful pistachios. The first two commercials were shown in February during the Super Bowl.
The selection of Mr. Colbert will very likely push several rows of dominoes into action in late night. Comedy Central will need a host for its 11:30 show. Chris Hardwick, who is hosting a new late night show on the channel, “At Midnight,” will surely be among those mentioned as a possibility to move up a half-hour.
And CBS will face questions about its own host-in-waiting, Craig Ferguson. If Mr. Ferguson decides to leave, having been passed over for the leading late-night job at CBS, the network will be seeking another host for its 12:35 a.m. show.
Dave Itzkoff contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/b...olbert-to-succeed-letterman-on-late-show.html
Do you guys think he'll be a good replacement? IMO even tho he's not going to be in character for the show he's too political.
By BILL CARTERAPRIL 10, 2014
CBS made its choice, quickly and definitively: Stephen Colbert is the successor to David Letterman as the star of “Late Show,” the late-night franchise created by Mr. Letterman.
CBS made the announcement Thursday, exactly one week after Mr. Letterman announced on his program that he would be leaving his post after one more year on the air.
Mr. Colbert, the star of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” became the immediate front-runner for the position both because of the increasing recognition of his talent — he won the Emmy Award for best late night host last year — and because he clearly wanted the job. Mr. Colbert’s representation had ensured that he would be available to CBS by syncing his recent contracts with Mr. Letterman’s.
Mr. Colbert’s current deal with Comedy Central will expire at the end of this year, making the timing ideal for him to make the switch to CBS.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
The show Mr. Colbert produces for CBS will be significantly different from “The Colbert Report” because Mr. Colbert will not bring with him the satirical right-wing blowhard character he has performed as during his nine-year run on Comedy Central.
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.”
Leslie Moonves, the CBS chief executive, who was the primary mover in getting the deal done, said the negotiations moved at a breakneck pace beginning the day Mr. Letterman announced his plans. He said a host of calls came in from representatives with comics seeking the job. But when Mr. Colbert’s agent, James Dixon, called to express Mr. Colbert’s interest, the talks became serious quickly.
The five-year deal was not difficult to conclude, Mr. Moonves said, because both sides were equally interested. But he said that Mr. Colbert had one special request: “He said, ‘I want to be sure Dave is on board.’ ” Mr. Moonves said he had already decided that “it was essential to me to get Dave’s blessing.”
So he called and spoke to the star personally to let him know the network was leaning toward hiring Mr. Colbert. “Dave was very happy,” Mr. Moonves said. “He was very supportive and said it was a great choice.”
In a statement, Mr. Letterman said: “Stephen has always been a real friend to me. I’m very excited for him, and I’m flattered that CBS chose him. I also happen to know they wanted another guy with glasses.”
Mr. Moonves and other CBS executives stressed Mr. Colbert’s range of talents, setting up the changes he is likely to make when he moves to the broader medium of late night on a network.
Mr. Colbert, 49, has demonstrated that he can do more than his mostly political satire. He won a Grammy Award for his musical Christmas special, “A Colbert Christmas,” in 2009, and starred as Harry in a 2011 production of “Company” by the New York Philharmonic. His Comedy Central show has won three awards for best writing for a variety show and two Peabody Awards.
Unlike many other late-night hosts, Mr. Colbert has been comfortable as a product pitchman on his show, integrating into it products ranging from Halls cough drops to Budweiser beer. Sometimes Mr. Colbert has segments that seem connected to branded entertainment deals, but are actually parodies of the conventions of late-night television. Frequently those segments have been about Doritos snack chips.
Mr. Colbert also recently became a pitchman in actual commercials, for Wonderful pistachios. The first two commercials were shown in February during the Super Bowl.
The selection of Mr. Colbert will very likely push several rows of dominoes into action in late night. Comedy Central will need a host for its 11:30 show. Chris Hardwick, who is hosting a new late night show on the channel, “At Midnight,” will surely be among those mentioned as a possibility to move up a half-hour.
And CBS will face questions about its own host-in-waiting, Craig Ferguson. If Mr. Ferguson decides to leave, having been passed over for the leading late-night job at CBS, the network will be seeking another host for its 12:35 a.m. show.
Dave Itzkoff contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/b...olbert-to-succeed-letterman-on-late-show.html
Do you guys think he'll be a good replacement? IMO even tho he's not going to be in character for the show he's too political.
It seems like a logical pick though... considering he stepped in for Jon Stewart in 2013.