Stephen Colbert Selected As Successor To David Letterman

Stephen Colbert Selected As Successor To David Letterman

One week after the announcement of David Letter man that he will retire by 2015, CBS selected Stephen Colbert to become the successor of “The Late Show” host. A five-year contract was signed by the comedian to take the helm of the lat-night show.

Although Colbert is the host of “The Colbert Report” of Comedy Central, he will not be using the character in the show. Specific creative elements are set to be determined and announced by CBS later on.

Colbert has been eyed as a potential successor to Letterman for a number of years already. Although his name being picked to succeed Letterman was not surprising, the speed of the announcement was unanticipated.

The premiere date of Stephen Colbert as the new host of “The Late Show” will be revealed once the final broadcast of Letterman is finalized. Letterman said he was excited for Colbert, whom he considers as a real friend.

CBS Corp president and CEO Les Moonves said Colbert is among the most esteemed and creative forces on television. Moonves added the accomplishments and legacy of Letterman make the network proud and the recent announcement gives an indication that the network aims to maintain this legacy.

Colbert was also praised by Comedy Central, which looks forward to the upcoming eight months of the “Colbert Report.” The move of Colbert will mean he will compete at the same time slot as his current show. Jon Stewart will not become a lead-in for Colbert anymore.

Stewart said Colbert is wonderful on “Colbert Report” and gives an indication that he has more to offer to the audience. Colbert was also elated by the announcement of CBS and he never thought he would follow the footsteps of David Letterman. Stephen Colbert also inserted some humor following the announcement as he said that he needed to grind a space in his front teeth.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday April 12 2014, 3:37 AM EST. Ref: CNN. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0