Following a nine-month absence from late night, Stephen Colbert returned to television on Tuesday now at the helm of The Late Show.
An extended, cameo-filled premiere episode offered plenty of laughs for Stephen Colbert’s first night on network TV… even if it felt a bit strange to see him as “himself.”
There were still plenty of familiar elements from the Report days including his pride for America. The cold open featured Colbert singing the Star Spangled Banner with regular citizens around the country — and a quick cameo from a bearded Jon Stewart (because, of course).
After the opening bit Stephen took to the stage and jumped right into the monologue, wasting no time getting things started (Reports indicate the taping lasted over two hours, so lots had to be cut for air). “Hello nation!” Colbert yelled at the audience in a small nod to Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. He then jumped into a standard monologue which featured a cameo from CBS head Les Moonves, who was sitting in the audience and operating a giant lever which could switch the channel to re-runs of The Mentalist.
After the monologue Colbert narrated his own opening credits. It was a departure from the standard opening of a late night talk show, but it perfectly played into his self-admitted narcissism (Those pictures of his face around the theater are another hilarious example). Once at the desk, Stephen paid tribute to the original Late Show host. “I’m not replacing David Letterman,” he said, noting that he’d never be able to match the level of comedy his predecessor hit.
Stephen then showed off elements of his set including a pair of giant screens behind him. He cracked a joke about watching TV behind his guests when he gets bored during interviews, then turned on his “rival” Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Jimmy and Stephen began talking to one another, and the two appeared again in a quick bit at the end of the premiere. Unlike Jay Leno and David Letterman, these two appear to have no problem being friendly with one another.
Stephen then offered a tour of his on-set collectibles, including his Captain America shield and his cursed amulet. The latter became upset at Stephen and ordered him to promote Sabra hummus a few times. This was the part of the show where Stephen showed his nerdy side, and it may be the host’s most unique ability.
After his first commercial break, Stephen asked the audience if they could talk politics (Duh! These are Colbert fans, after all). His first subject was naturally Donald Trump, and in a Colbert Report-like skit he played a few ridiculous clips of the Presidential candidate’s strangest moments from the summer. Colbert compared Trump clips to Oreos — you simply cannot have just one.
Stephen then took a break from politics to interview George Clooney. The host humorously offered the actor a paperweight from Tiffany’s with “I don’t know you” engraved on it, and the two did a bit where they played clips from a fake upcoming George Clooney movie.
His second guest was Presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Stephen managed to get Jeb to critique his brother, former President George W. Bush, by asking how they disagree policy-wise. Stephen set up this question by noting that he and his own brother, who was in the audience, disagree politically but still love each other deeply.
The following clip with Jeb’s thoughts on gun control and Donald Trump was posted on The Late Show YouTube channel. It was cut from the episode for time:
It was a bit jarring at first to see Stephen not play a character on his own show, but he proved he was able to blend his signature sense of humor (namely the political and nerdy fun) with a standard late night talk show. CBS definitely hired a host who can play to a younger audience much better than Letterman could, and like Colbert Report, the new Late Show may slowly transition into a more and more ridiculous program. As one TV critic put it:
I feel like criticizing Late Show for not being the Report misses how that show was a long, long slide toward lunacy. Same'll happen here.
— Todd VanDerWerff (@tvoti) September 9, 2015
Although Colbert is no newb at the talk show game, like most talk shows, he’ll improve and refine Late Show over time. In other words: It’s too early to judge the new show, and we can’t wait to see how it evolves.
What did you think of Stephen Colbert’s first ‘Late Show’?
Noteworthy: At the end of the show the credits revealed that former Daily Show host Jon Stewart is an executive producer on The Late Show. Interesting!