Stephen Colbert
YES: He’s a perfect fit for The Late Show
Sorry, Colbert Nation, but there is a vacancy in late night TV, and Stephen Colbert is the right man for the job.
Though Colbert is not a natural successor to David Letterman, he could revive The Late Show, making it a real ratings threat to The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
Of course, if Colbert took the job it would mean abandoning his post at Comedy Central. The Colbert Report has run for nine years, and Colbert has been praised for his brilliant right-wing news pundit character.
Many wonder how Colbert would fare without his character, but he’d be just fine. Despite the satirical nature of his character, Colbert’s charm and intelligence always comes across. It’s not difficult to imagine him running an hour-long program with success.
The CBS audience skews older, so the transition to Colbert could be difficult. However, it would be a smoother replacement than, say, Craig Ferguson, who is best suited to continue his deconstruction of the late night format in his current time slot. To compete with NBC, Colbert is the best option.
As the new host of The Tonight Show, Fallon has maintained a lead over rival networks, averaging more than 4 million viewers nightly, according to Zap2It. According to a Fox News source, Fallon’s rating surge pushed Letterman to retire. Colbert would come to CBS with a loyal core audience, and he has the same appeal to younger audiences as Fallon. If CBS is looking to revamp its late night television, it’s important to attract younger audiences.
When news of Letterman’s retirement broke, many names, such as Tina Fey and Ellen DeGeneres, came up in hopes that CBS would make a more diverse hire. Colbert obviously wouldn’t fulfill that, but he has proven his success in late night, and The Late Show appears like it would be a natural progression in his career.
And it is time for Colbert to move on. As pitch-perfect as he is on The Colbert Report, he may be squandering his potential by not taking this opportunity. The sanctity of his persona will not be tarnished if Colbert moves to network television, it will just alter his legacy.
Let’s imagine what a Colbert-helmed Late Show would look like — a winsome, satirical monologue, some banter between Colbert and the band leader, Colbert’s fantastic interview skills on display — how appealing is that? And maybe Colbert could incorporate some of Letterman’s famous gags: Colbert would bring a ton of personal flair to Top 10 Lists or Stupid Pet Tricks.
Although Letterman and Colbert have different comedic styles — Letterman is dry and acerbic while Colbert is enthusiastic and sardonic — they are both talented. When Letterman started out on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, it was clear he had a bright future. After Johnny Carson retired, many fans wanted Letterman to take over The Tonight Show. The job went to Leno, but CBS took advantage of Letterman’s obvious brilliance, and they should apply to same logic to the new opening. Colbert is at a similar crossroads. His work on The Colbert Report is hilarious and innovative, but he is capable of more. And now that Letterman is retiring, it’s time to launch Colbert into a new phase in his career.
And like Dave, he’ll rock the signature specs.
– Dustin Levy
dlevydbk@gmail.com | @DustinBLevy
NO: The Colbert Report is where he belongs
The problem with Stephen Colbert potentially replacing David Letterman isn’t that he would make a bad host — on the contrary, he would probably be witty, friendly and all-round great. The problem is the likelihood that he would abandon The Colbert Report and therefore his alter ego, the fictional character Stephen Colbert. For the uninitiated, Stephen Colbert the character is a parody of ultra-conservative figures such as Bill O’Reilly. Colbert the character spouts his support of policies and ideals that sound absurd and hilarious when they come from his mouth. The character draws from Colbert’s real life, with the same name, the same love of Lord of the Rings and the same family members, but Colbert’s character has quite opposing political beliefs, insofar as the character actually understands what he’s talking about.
Under the guise of his character, Colbert has access to some of the most influential people in the world, especially those involved in politics. Interviewees argue with Colbert’s character, defending their views in the face of his fictional ignorance. In this way, he can tackle controversial issues that no else really can. Colbert even testified before Congress in 2010, breaking character only to explain his care for the plight of immigrant workers. In an especially funny and powerful use of his satirical power, Colbert created his own super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, to demonstrate the ridiculousness of campaign finances. The super PAC raised $773,704.83 and even won Colbert a Peabody Award for spreading awareness about campaign finance policies.
The Colbert character’s popularity has spread to many random and hilarious other avenues that never would have been possible if he weren’t a satirical creation. There’s the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor Americone Dream, Colbert’s presence as a presidential candidate in Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man series, and even the name of a species of spider, Aptostichus stephencolberti. This character resonates with people, but it seems unlikely that a nonsatirical Stephen Colbert would have had such a widespread effect.
Colbert becoming just another late-night show host would mean losing the shield that his character offers him. He would no longer be able to interview politicians by parodying their problematic views, and his status as a talk show host would probably prevent him from being involved in politics in any major way. Yes, Colbert might bring more viewers — especially the coveted young audience — to the Late Show, but really, is that more important than the good he can do as a character? Colbert won’t be acting forever, and even if he doesn’t accept the Late Show spot, he won’t stay with The Colbert Report for long. Hopefully he’ll stay long enough to groom a successor or at least to provide us with great satire, a lot of laughs and most importantly, the ability to cause a real-world impact.
Our world is saturated with media, and it’s getting harder to know what networks to trust. In contrast, Stephen Colbert and his friend and affiliate Jon Stewart offer the news in a manner that’s heartfelt, informative and humorous. These comedians have the power to criticize the awfulness of American politics on both sides because they can do so from the seat of comedy.
Colbert’s role in our media landscape is too important to give up. It’s possible that he’ll find a replacement, but the character of Stephen Colbert is so entrenched that it will be difficult to find someone else of that caliber, someone else who can gain the same access to important people and with important questions while being thoughtful and hilarious.
– Jonathan Raeder
