5 Silver Linings of Losing the Colbert Report

Today, we have a special treat for you Hubsters! Guest contributor Sharilyn Johnson has sent in this article examining the upside to losing Stephen Colbert as host of ‘The Colbert Report’. Sharilyn is a Toronto-based writer and comedy journalist, who created the stage show ‘Fake News Fangirl’. You can read Colbert News Hub’s exclusive interview with her here.

By the end of 2014, “Stephen Colbert” the character will be no more. That’s lot to process. It’s sudden, it’s surreal, and – despite the “onwards and upwards” angle to all this – it’s sad. The Colbert Report has been a unique television creation in so many ways, and it’s a shame to see it disappear. But aside from what we’re directly getting in exchange (an hour of the real Stephen, five nights a week), there are other upsides to the loss.

The Real Stephen as a Daily Show Guest

This will happen before the CBS show starts, you can take that to be bank. Those who’ve been fans since the beginning remember the greatness of the tosses between Jon and Stephen at the end of the Daily Show. The mutual enjoyment of each other was palpable, and it was so entertaining in part because Stephen was often only partially in character. So imagine Stephen completely out of character, walking out there and sitting in the guest chair, followed by five minutes of complete realness between the two.

We Can Stop Explaining Things To People

It’s been a tough few weeks to be a fan, hasn’t it? Every time you a turn a corner, a friend or coworker asks “so, Colbert huh?” as though that’s a real question. You know things are bad when we fans have to develop CNN-worthy talking points just to get through the day. But it will be easier soon: we won’t have to deal with people asking why we like someone who’s such a jerk, or explain to them (very slowly) that no, Stephen isn’t really a conservative. It’s a steep learning curve for the general public, but we’ll get them there and it’ll mean fewer headaches for fans in the long run.

The “He Should Host ____” Suggestions Won’t Suck

I think we can rule out SNL (Lorne Michaels won’t be keen to promote golden boy Fallon’s top competition), but all those Reddit comments that crop up saying he should host the Emmys or the Grammys? Not such a bad idea anymore. Those gigs only make sense if he did them out of character, and the door is wide open for that now.

Goodbye, Awful Holding Room

I realize how privileged I am to have this “problem,” but I’ve spent too many hours crammed inside the brick-and-mortar clown car that is the Colbert Report audience holding room. (And being from outside the U.S., that’s time spent without a data connection.) Trust me: it does not get better. (Well… they did bring back a few of the uncomfortable metal benches, so if you’re among the first inside you don’t have to rush to grab a piece of the wall to lean on for the next hour-plus. So I guess there’s that?)

Think of the Photo Shoots

Stephen is known for collaborating with photographers to come up with wonderfully creative concepts for magazine shoots. You can bet any editorial layouts prior to his CBS launch will be full of clever symbolism of him leaving his character behind (how many ways can he think of to destroy a mask of himself?). Plus, just in general, it’s time to get this man out of the Brooks Brothers suits. Mark Seliger’s 2007 shots for Vanity Fair featured Stephen stripped of his character, and had fangirls weak in the knees. More of that, please.