"One place where late-night programming is facing no tension or instability is the cable channel TBS, which announced Monday that it had extended the contract of its signature star, Conan O’Brien, until November 2015."
Letterman's contract with CBS is up in October 2015
Conan's contract with TBS is up in November 2015
Coincidence? Or something the 2 possibly orchestrated for Conan's eventual takeover of The Late Show?
chaos wrote:I use to be a big fan. He never really got back into his groove after his surgery though. It's time.
I agree, Dave's kind of outlasted his show which is in dire need of an overhaul.
I love Letterman, but he hasn't been the same in years...I am however amped that Arsenio is back on the air and making noise...he's not everyone's cup of tea, but he does manage to pull some serious guests...the other day he had Prince on for the whole hour for interviews AND performances...
Stephen Colbert to succeed David Letterman on ‘Late Show’
By Emily Wright / Boston.com Staff / April 10, 2014
Just a week after David Letterman announced his retirement on April 3, CBS has made its “Late Show” host replacement official today: Stephen Colbert will take over for Letterman in 2015.
Colbert signed a 5-year contract with CBS, according to a release from the network, with a start date to coincide with Letterman’s yet-to-be-announced final show.
“Stephen Colbert is one of the most inventive and respected forces on television,” Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation said in the statement. “David Letterman’s legacy and accomplishments are an incredible source of pride for all of us here, and today’s announcement speaks to our commitment of upholding what he established for CBS in late night.”
Colbert humbly acknowledged the new deal in the CBS statement, remarking that being a guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman” “has been a highlight of his career.”
“I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead,” Colbert added.
Colbert, who is currently the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” will join the likes of Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the 11:35 late-night timeslot.
Yeah. that is a surprising choice. I've never watched Stephen Colbert, so I have no idea how he will do. Did they choose him just because he has glasses like Dave?
I will say that I couldn't be happier that Colbert is taking over for Letterman, though I understand some had hoped (quite reasonably) that perhaps the time had come for a female entrant into the top-tier late night slots. One thought I have though is that I feel like coming out of character might be a bigger adjustment than people imagine.
I'm not saying he can't do it. I think he can. And maybe the whole premise is off since I've seen conflicting reports on whether he'll do the show in character or not. But I don't think you can do a show like Late Night permanently in character as a buffoon. We'll see.
For those who are curious. Here's some really rare video of Colbert dropping out of character to discuss his "Colbert" character, in a walkaround I did with John Kerry several years ago.
"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," Colbert said in a statement.
I'm in, at least the few hours I may spend watching late night talk per month. I really like Colbert and I think he's a great choice to succeed Letterman, in or out of "character."
I'd take JS over Colbert any day, but both rate great. Colbert roasted W (the fuckwit) to his face and it was spot on and Fearless! Should be on youtube....