Late Show Shuffle

Stephen Colbert May Be a Riskier Choice Than We Think

Naming Stephen Colbert as David Letterman's Late Show successor seems like a no-brainer at first. But when you think about it, it could be a difficult transition.
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The news that Stephen Colbert will be taking over CBS’s Late Show once David Letterman retires at some point next year is somehow surprising while also feeling oddly inevitable. In the week or so since word first broke that Letterman was hanging up his suit, there was some hopeful speculation about who might replace him. Would it be a woman? A non-white person? Maybe a non-white woman?? Well, no, of course it wouldn’t be, because this is CBS we’re talking about, and they are not boat-rockers. Stephen Colbert, then, feels like the obvious guy for the job, trained in late night and beloved by olds and youngs as he is.

But the more you actually think about it, the choice seems stranger and stranger. The most glaring issue with the hire is that Stephen Colbert has, for the most part, been playing a character for the last 10 or so years. Sure, the line between “Stephen Colbert” and Stephen Colbert is often blurry, but much of what’s made the guy famous and successful has been full-blown parody. An argument could be made that during The Colbert Report’s interview segments, which probably pertain the most to this new gig, Colbert is more himself, and has proven a nimble and likable interviewer. But it’s still in the context of the “Colbert” character, and, in a broader sense, of the late-night Comedy Central political-humor lineup.

Outside of that context, Stephen Colbert looks more like an actor than he does a joke-telling stand-up guy. Which could be O.K. After all, Jimmy Fallon is a sketch comedian who’s figured out how to make The Tonight Show work for him. But network late-night jokes need to be broad enough to appeal to a wider audience, the way The Colbert Report jokes certainly aren’t. Will we like a friendlier, less pointy Stephen Colbert? Not that he has to completely neuter himself, but the darkly absurdist glimmers that run throughout his comedy will probably have to be toned down some. It’s not clear what that version of Stephen Colbert looks like, because, really, we’ve never seen it.

There’s also a potential problem of viewership. Beloved by the media as he is, Colbert certainly gets plenty of attention and accolades. But his is still a pretty niche show. Does he have as much of a built-in audience as CBS is likely assuming he does? And are his loyal fans the type of people who will watch a network late-night talk show? Those are two different demographics with certainly some overlap on the TV viewer Venn diagram, but I can’t imagine it’s all that much. People hungry for political satire aren’t necessarily the same people who want to listen to an actor plug his new movie.

And then, of course, there is the more sociologically troubling fact that yet another middle-aged white guy was chosen for one of the most prominent jobs in comedy. Women have been making great strides in comedy this year, with critically acclaimed shows like Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer breaking out on Comedy Central, but it seems the late-night doors remain closed for now. Though perhaps not for long. There have been rumors that CBS is also in talks with Chelsea Handler to do some sort of show once she leaves E!. So that could be something. As for anyone who isn’t white? Well, I guess they’ll have to wait until, I don’t know, Jimmy Kimmel quits. Sorry, W. Kamau Bell.

Of course, we’ll also have to mourn The Colbert Report, a show that could be, at its best, screamingly funny while taking both a necessary sledgehammer and a scalpel to political catastrophes both silly and deadly serious. Really, Colbert couldn’t do that character forever, though sadly not because the type of buffoon he’s satirizing has ceased to exist. No, they keep popping up all over the place. Next year we’ll have to find someone else to poke holes in those windbags, while Colbert is busy behind the big desk, interviewing the latest CBS sitcom star.