Over a year after being anointed the successor to David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert’s first episode finally aired last night, hopefully kicking off a new long-running staple of the late night arena. There was a mix of politics and celebrity gawking, proving that Colbert can fit both roles.
The intro couldn’t have been more perfect. Colbert sang parts of the “Star Spangled Banner” around the country before a surprise umpire called, “Play ball!”
Colbert then did a short monologue, which surprisingly included some jabs at CBS, his new home. Even after praising the network for welcoming him, he joked about their decision to run The Mentalist reruns in the old Late Show slot. Is CBS chief Les Moonves didn’t like Colbert, he could always go back to that Australian guy who can solve crimes with his dimples.
And then Colbert paid tribute to Letterman. That was followed by a hilarious sketch about making fun of Donald ‘The’ Trump. It felt like it was ripped right out of the heart of The Colbert Report, even making fun of the fact that he had to joke about The Donald.
The real question though was ‘Could Colbert do a fluffy interview with a celebrity?’ Since George Clooney had nothing in particular to promote, he could really test his celebrity interviewing skills without having to force a mention of a movie. That said, Colbert and Clooney did come up with a fake movie for him to promote.
That was followed by an interview with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. While it was a bit softball, but he did get Bush to say that he wants more compromise and talk in Washington, D.C. Let’s see how many Republican voters actually want that.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert could use a little more fine-tuning (the gag about the product-pushing ancient amulet was a bit weird...), but the launch was really funny and very smooth overall. Colbert fit the format perfectly, without bowing to the awful need for a viral hit.
You can check out the rest of this week’s guests right here.
image courtesy of Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS