Matthew Jenner

Staff Writer

@MovieUnchained

It got the world talking when Stephen Colbert was announced as the successor to legendary talk show host David Letterman two weeks ago. Colbert recently paid a visit to Letterman on Tuesday night, where of course Colbert brought his very edgy humor to the stage, especially when the topic of Colbert replacing Letterman came up. One would think such an encounter would be a little awkward, but instead we get an exchange between the reigning king of late night, and the brilliantly funny man who is replacing him next year.

In his opening monologue, Letterman quipped that Colbert was merely there to “sign the lease” and then when Colbert came out a little later, both hosts mentioned how in the last few weeks since Letterman’s announcement of his retirement, and Colbert’s succession announcement, both their lives have been “interesting,” as Letterman mentions.

Colbert mentioned, when asked about how he’s going to do the show, that he plans to do everything exactly like Letterman, stating “it seemed to have gone pretty well, Dave.” Of course, Colbert expressed his excitement at replacing Letterman, to which Letterman mentioned how they “could have easily hired another boob like me,” and Colbert remarked that, “they hired a boob like me” and “every boob is like a snowflake, Dave, we’re all unique in our own way.”

Colbert also spoke about how a purely fateful encounter with some Late Night executives in 1986 got him accepted as an intern for Letterman, mentioning how he didn’t even go to audition, but instead just tagged along with his girlfriend, who was being interviewed for the same position. Colbert said he turned it down because the job didn’t pay, asking Letterman “is the next job I’m taking here going to pay?”

Colbert signifies a new age for Late Show. He and Letterman are both renowned for their edgy humor, which strangely parallels the safer, more gentle humor of Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon on NBC. Like Fallon, Colbert is particularly attentive to social media (on the Letterman appearance, he even took a selfie with the legendary host), so it is no surprise that Late Show with Stephen Colbert will probably draw in a larger, younger audience.

The exact date for the changeover has yet to be announced, with Letterman ambiguously stating it will be sometime next year.

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