Stephen Colbert took over as host, executive producer and writer of THE LATE SHOW on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. The comedy-variety-talk show is broadcast five nights a week from the Ed Sullivan... Read allStephen Colbert took over as host, executive producer and writer of THE LATE SHOW on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. The comedy-variety-talk show is broadcast five nights a week from the Ed Sullivan theater in New York.Stephen Colbert took over as host, executive producer and writer of THE LATE SHOW on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. The comedy-variety-talk show is broadcast five nights a week from the Ed Sullivan theater in New York.
- Nominated for 31 Primetime Emmys
- 4 wins & 104 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Ed Sullivan Theater (where the show is taped) underwent an extensive renovation during the time between David Letterman's retirement and Stephen Colbert's debut as host of the Late Show. In addition to the talk show set receiving an overhaul, several architectural features of the theater were restored. The theater's ornate domed ceiling, which had been hidden behind air ducts and sound buffers, was uncovered, and the ornate stained-glass windows, which had been removed and placed in storage during the Letterman era, were re-installed.
- Quotes
Stephen Colbert: [at the Republican National Convention podium] Welcome, citizens, to the 2016 Hungry for Power Games! Ha ha, beautiful! This week, in this arena, the Republicans shall prove they are truly passionate about one candidate: Hillary Clinton. They will do anything to stop her, up to and including nominating Donald J. Jonah Jameson Trump. But Tribute Trump will not enter the arena alone, no. He has formed an alliance with Indiana governor Mike Pence.
[falls asleep]
Stephen Colbert: Sorry, I blacked out there for a moment. So it is my honor to hereby launch and begin the 2016 Republican National Hungry for Power Games!
[bangs gavel; security begins to escort him away]
Stephen Colbert: Look, I know I'm not supposed to be up here, but let's be honest: neither is Donald Trump.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HyperNormalisation (2016)
I always found informative, funny and interesting Colbert's previous show and I thought he innovated the Late Night formula correctly. It was not as fun as the Report and guest- based shows tend to be boring product placement with exceptions on good nights but I felt Colbert's part was still enjoyable even if CBS restrained his comedy.
Then the election came to the last month run and the show was completely ruined.
The power of the jester is immense as he can freely mock the powerful without reprisal and spell more truth in a joke than a pundit can in long PC-ruled convoluted analysis. Colbert wilfully renounced this almost sacred role and destroyed this precious mask. He completely sided with HRC losing any comedic perspective, his bits became simply a ranting word by word repetition of what the outrageous Trump had said the previous day with some stitched on comedy remarks and nothing but that for weeks. NO JOKES on HRC but just false sounding and pandering praises, adding to the boring disgrace the guests were 99,9% HRC spokespersons or her fans/endorsers (all except Viggo Mortensen).
It ended up being ironical in his failure: Colbert's show has completely ceased to be funny while actually harming his political cause by amplifying Trump's message. Colbert's political attitude should not have been the main concern for the audience in the first place, at least not more important than quality entertainment. No wonder a poll taken few days before the vote shown that 75% of American public perceived the media to heavily favour HRC (that's far more than just Republican voters). Colbert was just part of the chorus and not the worst (Samantha Bee...ugh!) but he should have known better.
I've got nothing against Colbert's political ideas or his openness about those, I never particularly liked HRC and I find Trump quite dangerous, but the lack of comedy is unbearable and unjustifiable. It was a deceptively easy task to make fun of a man who surpasses his worst critics' expectations by almost daily announcements containing racial, gender and generic outlandish charged statements. Trump used the media and the media only wanted more in a circle of desperate addiction. Other hosts went with the flow and writers had a paid holiday. I judged Colbert's and Di Nello's wits to be superior and up to the task, alas they failed miserably.
How will the show fare in Trump-Land now? Will it become even more partisan and boring? Will it adapt to other themes? I'm not going to be there to watch, that's for sure.
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