--- title: Stephen Colbert Introduces Himself As CBS’s New Late Show Host description: Promising advertisers laughs and viewers, Colbert says he's found his real self--sort of canonical: https://time.com/3857917/stephen-colbert-cbs-late-show/ author: James Poniewozik article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-13T21:07:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:11:02.178Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Stephen Colbert Introduces Himself As CBS’s New Late Show Host og:description: Promising advertisers laughs and viewers, Colbert says he's found his real self--sort of og:url: https://time.com/3857917/stephen-colbert-cbs-late-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67310c8a40782da7/6987efa5428a9eb343ccb67f/104847_d0264bc.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 104847_D0264bc og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Introduces Himself As CBS’s New Late Show Host twitter:description: Promising advertisers laughs and viewers, Colbert says he's found his real self--sort of twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67310c8a40782da7/6987efa5428a9eb343ccb67f/104847_d0264bc.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Introduces Himself As CBS's New _Late Show_ Host by [James Poniewozik](https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik May 13, 2015 9:07 PM UTC  Colbert visits with Letterman in April. Colbert visits with Letterman in April.Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS by [James Poniewozik](https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik May 13, 2015 9:07 PM UTC He shaved the beard, he wore a suit, he didn’t once address the crowd as “Nation.” He was Stephen Colbert, and he introduced himself as the future host of _Late Show_ at CBS’s upfront presentation for advertisers in Carnegie Hall Wednesday. Much of the talk around Colbert’s transition from _The Colbert Report_ to taking over from David Letterman has focused on what kind of host he would be like as himself, having shed his fake-news persona. So, of course, that was the focus of the taped sketch Colbert opened with. The piece opened on Colbert planning to go on a journey to India to discover himself, with a giant bag or gorp and a copy of _Eat Pray Love_. Until, that is, he became absorbed in a marathon binge-watch of CBS and lost track of time until May. Desperate, he told CBS president Les Moonves that he still didn’t know who he was. “You’re a white male comedian,” Moonves said, “with a nice haircut and a suit.” “Oh!” said Colbert. “I’m a talk-show host!” Did Colbert’s appearance reveal what the true Colbert, CBS host, would be like? Maybe, maybe not. He followed the taped sketch by introducing himself onstage, a la the self-aggrandizing Report host: “Please welcome the new host of the _Late Show_ and the man who is talking right now saying these words–Stephen Colbert!” As for Colbert’s monologue, it was arch, snarky and–typically for upfronts–TV-centric. Colbert said he’d be a good fit for the _CSI_ network because “most of my show will be me solving crimes by zooming in on pubic hairs.” As for his relationship with advertisers–whom CBS has already been having him schmooze–he promised to deliver. “Advertisers want young eyeballs,” he said, “and not just the ones Rupert Murdoch buys on the black market.” Of course monologues themselves require a kind of persona; the reall differences between CBS Colbert and Comedy Central Colbert won’t be apparent until we see him doing interviews, sketches, banter and all the odds and ends that make up a late night. In the meantime, Colbert hardly seemed fazed by the big stage. “I guess the old joke is true about how you get to Carnegie Hall,” Colbert said. “You take over a late show and it turns out to be mandatory.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3857917/stephen-colbert-cbs-late-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3857917/stephen-colbert-cbs-late-show/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Introduces Himself As CBS's New Late Show Host","datePublished":"2015-05-13T21:07:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:11:02.178Z","description":"Promising advertisers laughs and viewers, Colbert says he's found his real self--sort of","url":"https://time.com/3857917/stephen-colbert-cbs-late-show/","keywords":["Television","Late Night","stephen colbert","CBS","upfronts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67310c8a40782da7/6987efa5428a9eb343ccb67f/104847_d0264bc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Poniewozik","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67310c8a40782da7/6987efa5428a9eb343ccb67f/104847_d0264bc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"104847_D0264bc","caption":"Stephen Colbert, future host of the LATE SHOW, talks to David Letterman when Colbert visits the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Tuesday, April 22 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. 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