By — Colleen Shalby Colleen Shalby Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/stephen-colbert-replace-david-letterman-late-show Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on ‘The Late Show’ Nation Apr 10, 2014 1:08 PM EDT CBS announced Thursday that Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman on “The Late Show,” just one week after the legendary host announced his retirement. The news created quite the frenzy on Twitter, with many supporting the decision. Congrats to @stephenathome on his new home. Who should the first guest be? — Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) April 10, 2014 Hey @StephenAtHome You're gonna need an unctuous sidekick. #imjustsayin — Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) April 10, 2014 Congratulations to @StephenAtHome! Could not have happened to a nicer guy — Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) April 10, 2014 Others pointed out that the network selected yet another man to join the already male-dominated late-night slot among Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers and Conan O’Brien. In spite of being white, male, straight, popular, competent, and rich, Stephen Colbert has overcome the odds and succeeded. — Teju Cole (@tejucole) April 10, 2014 Stephen Colbert, eh? He's no Amy Sedaris/Amy Poehler/Tina Fey. #facts — Courtney E. Smith (@courtneyesmith) April 10, 2014 Shoulda been Ellen — Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) April 10, 2014 Prior to the announcement, comedian Jon Stewart told Vulture that he believed Colbert would be a proper replacement for Letterman. “He’s wonderful in Colbert Report, but he’s got gears he hasn’t even shown people yet. He would be remarkable.” Since 2005, Colbert has hosted “The Colbert Report” — the show that satirizes political criticism. Will the host still keep that satirical humor? Will he now go by Stephen “Col-burt,” and not the affected Stephen “Col-bear.”? UPDATE at 5:30 p.m. EDT | Colbert is sticking to the soft pronunciation of his last name, a change he made back in college and plans to keep. In a statement to Mashable, Colbert said: “I won’t be doing the new show in character, so we’ll all get to find out how much of him was me. I’m looking forward to it.” You’ll have to wait eight months to see. We look forward to the next eight months of the groundbreaking #ColbertReport and wish Stephen the very best. pic.twitter.com/FqD2gnNOmb — Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) April 10, 2014 In October, PBS NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff sat down with Colbert on his Comedy Central show. By — Colleen Shalby Colleen Shalby @CShalby
CBS announced Thursday that Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman on “The Late Show,” just one week after the legendary host announced his retirement. The news created quite the frenzy on Twitter, with many supporting the decision. Congrats to @stephenathome on his new home. Who should the first guest be? — Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) April 10, 2014 Hey @StephenAtHome You're gonna need an unctuous sidekick. #imjustsayin — Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) April 10, 2014 Congratulations to @StephenAtHome! Could not have happened to a nicer guy — Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) April 10, 2014 Others pointed out that the network selected yet another man to join the already male-dominated late-night slot among Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers and Conan O’Brien. In spite of being white, male, straight, popular, competent, and rich, Stephen Colbert has overcome the odds and succeeded. — Teju Cole (@tejucole) April 10, 2014 Stephen Colbert, eh? He's no Amy Sedaris/Amy Poehler/Tina Fey. #facts — Courtney E. Smith (@courtneyesmith) April 10, 2014 Shoulda been Ellen — Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) April 10, 2014 Prior to the announcement, comedian Jon Stewart told Vulture that he believed Colbert would be a proper replacement for Letterman. “He’s wonderful in Colbert Report, but he’s got gears he hasn’t even shown people yet. He would be remarkable.” Since 2005, Colbert has hosted “The Colbert Report” — the show that satirizes political criticism. Will the host still keep that satirical humor? Will he now go by Stephen “Col-burt,” and not the affected Stephen “Col-bear.”? UPDATE at 5:30 p.m. EDT | Colbert is sticking to the soft pronunciation of his last name, a change he made back in college and plans to keep. In a statement to Mashable, Colbert said: “I won’t be doing the new show in character, so we’ll all get to find out how much of him was me. I’m looking forward to it.” You’ll have to wait eight months to see. We look forward to the next eight months of the groundbreaking #ColbertReport and wish Stephen the very best. pic.twitter.com/FqD2gnNOmb — Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) April 10, 2014 In October, PBS NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff sat down with Colbert on his Comedy Central show.