--- title: Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and the Case Against Originality description: Maybe the new host will completely blow up the late-night format. But he doesn't have to do that to be an innovator. canonical: https://time.com/3664630/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-premiere/ author: James Poniewozik article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-13T13:10:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:44.248Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and the Case Against Originality og:description: Maybe the new host will completely blow up the late-night format. But he doesn't have to do that to be an innovator. og:url: https://time.com/3664630/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-premiere/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and the Case Against Originality twitter:description: Maybe the new host will completely blow up the late-night format. But he doesn't have to do that to be an innovator. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Stephen Colbert's _Late Show_ and the Case Against Originality > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: The Best of Stephen Colbert [Watch (HLS stream): The Best of Stephen Colbert](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PNJDP9f3.m3u8) (4:30)  _Published 2014-04-10. The next host of_ by [James Poniewozik](https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Jan 13, 2015 1:10 PM UTC by [James Poniewozik](https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Jan 13, 2015 1:10 PM UTC Monday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, CBS announced the premiere date of _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_: Sept. 8\. It did not announce the content or format of the show, because Colbert is still figuring that out. Speaking to reporters, CBS president Nina Tassler said that the network is, essentially, waiting for Colbert to work all of that out. “I have nine months to make a show, just like a baby,” Colbert said in a release. “So first, I should find out how you make a baby.” He’s said he’ll have guests and that he won’t host in character. He has not said whether or not he’ll have a monologue. Beyond that, it’s a blank. “Part of the opportunity of being in business with brilliant talent like Stephen Colbert,” Alan Sepinwall [reported Tassler saying](http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/late-show-with-stephen-colbert-has-a-premiere-date-but-what-will-it-look-like), “is really letting him do what he wants to do.” So it sounds like Colbert has fairly free rein. He could tear up the whole blueprint if he wants. He could invent a new format much as he did with his nine-year performance piece on Comedy Central. He could bust up the desk for firewood, tear the whole thing down and rebuild from the ground up. Maybe he shouldn’t. Before you say it, I know: I’m a hypocrite. I have written, over and over, about [how tired the monologue-desk-and-interviews late-night format is](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2140796,00.html). About how the real late-night energy is in shows doing anything but that. About how the desk is, creatively, the world’s most expensive (albeit also well-paying) [pair of cement shoes](http://time.com/49888/david-letterman-stewart-colbert-handler/). I am, to an extent, playing devil’s advocate with myself here. Colbert is creative and ambitious. I don’t doubt he’ll bring tons of ideas. But I also bet you agree to host an 11:35 late night talk show because you want to host an 11:35 late night talk show. Within that format, there’s still plenty of room to distinguish yourself. Letterman gave the format possibly its biggest remake ever–but what he did, at NBC then CBS, was still a talk show. Conan O’Brien’s _Tonight Show_ was still a talk show, a very traditional one in many ways, yet it was still a significant, and short-lived, departure for NBC simply because of his sensibility. Conversely, Jimmy Fallon’s _Tonight_ is really more different from Jay Leno’s in format than Conan’s was–but it’s closer in terms of [upbeat attitude](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/14/dead-tree-alert-jimmy-fallon-americas-fan-in-chief/). And look: it’s only fair to expect someone to build a network late-night show for those people who will actually, regularly _watch_ a late-night show. I’m not one of them. I love Colbert, and however great a show he creates, it will go into the same DVR queue of recordings that _The Colbert Report_ did, to be watched now and then when I have spare time, if I don’t just catch the highlights in online video form. He would be forgiven for not creating a show specifically with me in mind. Of course, I’d love it if he did! I believe Colbert may be the biggest talent in late night since the guy he’s replacing, and if he comes up with some scheme to rethink the post-evening-news hour, I will be eager to see what it is. If Colbert wants to blow up the desk, give the man as much dynamite as he needs. But I wouldn’t underestimate the difference Colbert could make just by being himself. ### See 13 Stephen Colbert Cameos You Might Have Missed  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Lake-town Spy Todd Eyre—Warner Bros.  Exit 57 - Various Characters (pictured top left) Comedy Central  Dana Carvey Show - Various Characters ABC  Strangers With Candy - Chuck Noblet Comedy Central  Missing Persons - Chet Davies ABC  Saturday Night Live - Ace, The Ambiguously Gay Duo (pictured left) NBC  Spin City - Frank ABC  Simpsons - Colby Krause (pictured right) Fox  Curb Your Enthusiasm - Tourist HBO  American Dad! - Dr. R. Dandliker (pictured left) Fox  Bewitched - Stu Robinson (pictured left) Columbia  Mr. Peabody & Sherman - Paul Peterson 20th Century Fox  Monsters vs Aliens - President Hathaway Dreamworks ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3664630/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-premiere/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3664630/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-premiere/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert's Late Show and the Case Against Originality","datePublished":"2015-01-13T13:10:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:40:44.248Z","description":"Maybe the new host will completely blow up the late-night format. 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