After a nine month hiatus, Stephen Colbert returns to television as the new host of The Late Show. Colbert replaced host of 22 years David Letterman. The new show leaves behind Colbert’s old conservative, narcissistic character and for once he plays himself.
Over nine months, Colbert and his staff have worked tirelessly on the transition from The Colbert Report to The Late Show. Recently, he and several other staff members have created a weekly podcast. Colbert also traveled to Detroit to do a spoof on a local talk show, where he interviewed Detroit native, Eminem.
Critics wondered how Colbert would differentiate his show from similar shows like The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. A big difference is the guests. Colbert manages to have an eclectic guest list, varying from celebrities to politicians. Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer have already been featured on the show. Colbert also has a plethora of “non-celebrities” making appearances on the show, such as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the CEO of Tesla Motors, and the CEO of Uber.
One of the most interesting aspects of the show is that Colbert is still not afraid to insult politicians. The first episode featured Jeb Bush, who, without authorization from The Late Show, used his appearance as a fundraising platform. Bush encouraged people to donate to his campaign in exchange for an opportunity to win tickets to Colbert’s show. Colbert responded by urging viewers to donate to the Yellow Ribbon Fund instead.
Though it is a different style of humor from his former show, Colbert still manages to be engaging, charismatic, and overall an entertaining host. Longtime fans of The Colbert Report will be happy to know there is still the enthusiastic chant of “Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!” at the beginning of every show.