TheBang

http://colbertlateshow.com/


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Late Show podcast:

http://colbertlateshow.com/podcasts/

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TheBang

New Orleans musician Jon Batiste named band leader for the Late Show:


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Throwing Copper

Really wish this was starting sooner. I enjoyed some of his show, but will be interested to see how he does not playing the character from the Report.

dhmac

My guess is he will be himself for the monologue and interviews, but will slip back into "Colbert Report" mode for some segments here and there.

Count Dooku

If you listen to his podcast, you will hear that they are working hard to find the voice for him to do jokes about the news and current events without his defaulting to the Colbert character.

One thing is that as the Colbert character, he was always addressing the nation as a voice of authority and worked to always keep a straight face.
As himself, he can quickly change up the format by acknowledging that he is delivering jokes and smiling and laughing.

slop101

I hope he keeps his edge and won't soften his humor for a wider market, but my guess is that he kinda' has to.

Mike86

From the promos thus far I sort of get a sense that it's going to be hard for him to break free of his character from The Colbert Report and be himself. The couple bits he's done seem half in character to me still, though not exactly the same one he played previously.

slop101

I love it when he riffs on Trump.

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madcougar

I've gotten the sense he's playing A character, but not necessarily his Colbert Report character.

Mike86

Yeah, that's what I was getting at though. He's not playing the same character from The Colbert Report, but he still seems like he's playing a character and isn't just being himself. I'm not so sure how that's going to fly with a more mainstream audience on CBS if he's going to do that often. I don't think a lot of the mainstream audience is going to "get" that.

madcougar

I think it will be ok if he's going to do bits away from his desk, but it will definitely be strange if he's "in character" while interviewing guests. This thread makes it clear that I don't have any idea what the real Stephen Colbert is like.

mcnabb

Putting aside the 'Colbert Report' persona he does, does anyone know what his real personality is like? I say that because CBS is pretty much handing him the keys to their 11:30 Late Night show yet his 'true' comedic personality has never been tested in public. I know he has done interviews as himself (he has been in Star Wars documentaries and he is a huge fan and comes off as a nice guy), but is his real personality really funny?

slop101

In or out of character, he's just about the quickest wit around and that should take him pretty far. I assume that he's going to take on multiple personalities/character as need be. And for interview segments, his real personality if funny/affable enough for most - even more so than Jay Leno I'd say.

JeffTheAlpaca

I don't think the masses will flock to his show since he has the political baggage and people will be more comfortable watching Fallon or Kimmel.

Mike86

That's kind of my feelings on him too. Look how quick NBC was ready to dump Conan. He had basically only had seven months to try and build his audience before NBC got cold feet and brought Leno back in. Compared to Colbert I would say Conan would have been more mainstream friendly if he had been given more time. He at least didn't hide behind a character like Colbert does.

I don't think I've ever seen Colbert not playing some kind of a character and I doubt most have so the vast majority of the audience doesn't really know what he'll be like. CBS won't bring Letterman back obviously but if he doesn't win his timeslot to Fallon, which I think is highly probable that he won't or even to Kimmel I could see the plug being pulled pretty fast. I've thought he was an odd choice from the get go really and was surprised that CBS didn't go with someone more mainstream friendly.

slop101

Is he really that much more of an odd a choice as either Fallon or Kimmel were when they were first announced? I'd say he's actually far less than they were just before they started their late night shows. They've just had the time to acclimate so you see them in their current light, rather than from before their shows.

Mike86

Fallon was a safe choice from the beginning. He was always going to do well in my opinion due to his time on SNL. People knew and liked him and he always seemed like the kind of guy who would do exactly what NBC wanted him to. Kimmel was a more risky choice, but he also took some time to catch on with people it seems like.

Colbert seems more marketable to a younger audience. Probably younger than even those who watch Conan. So I think there's possibility that the ratings may not be there so unless CBS is willing to stick it out he may take time to catch on.

slop101

I mostly recall Fallon being terrible on his SNL Weekend Update segments, so therefore might be terrible at a late night show - and he kinda was at first, but he improved quickly.

Mike86

Fallon was always pretty popular though and always had a more broad appeal. He had a shakey start and I still wouldn't call him great, but he's always had a likable personality that appeals to a broader audience.

madcougar

I think CBS is all in with Colbert. I don't see them pulling the plug on him even if he comes out slow out the gate. And I'd be SHOCKED if CBS thinks he's going to beat Fallon... ever. That's wishful thinking at this point.

Shannon Nutt

Colbert will be one major political scandal away from topping Fallon. If something like that hits, people will be tuning into him, because he's much better at spoofing that sort of stuff. Like when Jay took over Dave's #1 spot during the OJ Simpson trial with his "Dancing Itos" and making fun of the trial every single night (and being based in LA helped a lot too).

Mike86

Maybe. I never thought that NBC would pull the plug on Conan so fast though either but they did. Although I guess technically he left after they were going to downgrade him.

As for Colbert I think they'll stick it out with him for a while, and you're probably right in that they won't expect him to beat Fallon. I don't see him beating Fallon either as I don't think he's going to appeal to the masses the way Fallon does. I do seem to recall though something about CBS being unhappy with Letterman consistently being second towards the end of his run so I do sort of wonder what expectations they have for Colbert.

I'm guessing it'll be the same thing that usually happens and the first couple weeks or so will Colbert will do well in the ratings because people will be curious. I feel like Colbert has a long way to go in winning over the casuals and getting on Fallon's level of popularity. Even beating out Kimmel I can see being hard because he seemingly has gained a decent fanbase.

mcnabb

Did Kimmel ever beat out Letterman in the past 10 years, or has Letterman always been 2nd place to Leno and Fallon?

The problem is that Colbert is a known liberal and his shows slant that way, so you will have alot of Conservatives who just wont watch him for that reason. Leno or Carson never showed their politics in fear of alienating half of the country, and that is why they could get away with more political humor that didnt' come off as part of their ideology.

Colbert/Stewart are both staunch liberals and their shows lean that way, and it works for them because they have a devoted fanbase, yet they lose a chunk of the country that is conservative for that same reason.

Mike86

That's true. There's bound to be some type of political scandal and that is a strong suit for Colbert. I still sort of see people reverting back to Fallon though as let's face it most of the casual viewing audience only cares about politics as much as they need to, and generally outside of election years (and really mostly the few months leading up to Election Day) not enough people pay that much attention. Unless he can make a political scandal coincide with him having a string of great shows with solid guests and bits that aren't necessarily politically charged I don't know how much something like that will really help him long term.

I don't know for certain. I believe there were times when Kimmel beat Letterman, but I'm not sure how consistently it happened.

madcougar

It was actually an appearance by Hugh Grant in July 1995 after he was arrested for having sex with a prostitute that lifted Leno over Letterman. By the time of the OJ trial, Leno was solidly leading Letterman in the ratings.