One week ago, David Letterman publicly announced his retirement from CBS’ The Late Show in 2015. Now, a successor is already in place and he happens to be one of the biggest names in late night TV.
Stephen Colbert, the long time host of “The Colbert Report,” has signed a five year deal with CBS to take over as host of “The Late Show.”
“Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career,” said Colbert in a brief statement. “I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead. I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.”
Colbert was one of “The Daily Show’s” most popular correspondents for eight seasons before he was given his own show, “The Colbert Report’ in 2005. Colbert’s departure will leave a huge hole in Comedy Central’s late night lineup. And with the departure of John Oliver to HBO, there is seemingly no frontrunner among the correspondents on “The Daily Show” who can carry their own show.
The exact date of Letterman’s departure has yet to be announced, but it will occur at some point in 2015. With Colbert in place as Letterman’s heir apparent, the next question to be asked is where “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will be filmed. The mayors of Los Angeles and New York are heavily lobbying CBS to get (or keep) “The Late Show” in their respective cities.
