When news stories fall through the cracks, we here at Colbert News Hub find them for a post we call, In The Press.
This month’s edition is unsurprisingly Letterman-heavy. David Letterman ended his 33-year late-night run on a ratings high note, as nearly 14 million people tuned into his last show. His retirement gave the media an opportunity to reflect on the late-night format and its place in American culture.
As for us Colbert fans, we are now entering the final stretch before The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s September premiere. The Ed Sullivan Theater has been cleared and is undergoing renovations; the staff has already started working on the show; Stephen made his first official appearance as Late Show host at the CBS upfront presentation; and the promotion for the show should be starting any time now (the sooner the better!).
Stephen Colbert
- We Need David Letterman’s America: How the Leno/Fallon/Colbert Choice Defines Us and How We See the World – Salon
This article provides an analysis of what drew some people to Jay Leno’s type of humor and other people to Letterman’s. The author argues that the split between the two comedic sensibilities is likely to persist in the Fallon/Colbert era. While he doesn’t dwell on Stephen, I thought the way he talked about Letterman’s connection to his audience could have described our connection to The Colbert Report (“Letterman has structured both his show and his jokes such that they reward the faithful viewer’s long-term dedication … those same jokes will make his loyal viewers feel like insiders”).
So perhaps the networks have, for once, accurately identified the needs and wants of its current viewership, as they transition from Leno to Fallon and Letterman to Colbert. Letterman’s old viewers will find companionship in Colbert’s welcoming them in on the lifelong joke of their own absurdity, and Leno’s old viewers will be made by Jimmy Fallon to feel they are smart—or really to feel anything they choose to project onto his smile.
Jon Stewart
“The Daily Show” developed the program over the last three years without publicizing it, but now, because Mr. Stewart is preparing to leave the show, he has taken it into the open, urging other shows to develop their own programs to bring more veterans into the industry.
Late Night Television
- As Letterman Moves On, Late-Night Success Is Unmoored From TV – The New York Times
There’s been a lot of talk about late-night TV’s identity crisis. These past couple of years have obviously been tumultuous: not only have we witnessed a real game of musical chairs, but the networks have also had to rethink their strategy at a time when viewing habits are shifting.
Stephen Colbert, 50, who played an acerbic political commentator on “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, will set aside this character when he takes over at “Late Show” in September. Prospective writers for his “Late Show” have been told the host still enjoys “active and silly comedy,” according to a set of submission guidelines these writers were provided, and have been asked to pitch jokes based on news stories as well as comedy bits Mr. Colbert can perform with guests.
“When it comes to digital content and personalities, Corden and Colbert are a huge focus right now,” said Jim Lanzone, president and chief executive of CBS Interactive. He was referring to recently installed late-night host James Corden, who is off to a strong start of YouTube, and Stephen Colbert, who replaces Late Show host David Letterman later this year.
Mr. Young, the writer, said he was told that offices had to be cleared by the end of Friday to prepare for employees of Mr. Letterman’s successor, Stephen Colbert, who arrive this summer.
AP: As executive producer of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ and ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ you’ve been leading elsewhere on NBC’s late-night lineup, while things are in flux for your competition at CBS, where ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ only premiered in March and Stephen Colbert won’t be taking over ‘Late Show’ from David Letterman until September.
Michaels: I think Corden is a wonderful performer and that he will figure it out. Almost everything before you go on the air is conceptual — and then, there’s the doing it. The doing it is what you learn from. And if you follow your successes, if you see the things that are working for you and that viewers are responding to, I think you generally get to a place that’s successful.
But I don’t think you’ll be able to tell what Corden’s show is until Colbert is in front of it. Once that lineup is in place, Colbert is formidable. He stands for intelligence and he’s a wonderful performer.
- David Letterman by the Numbers: Ratings, Records and Social Stats Before We Say Sayonara – The Wrap
While Letterman has had a very clear edge over Jay Leno in terms of critical acclaim and enduring legacy, the same can’t be said of his ratings. The Wrap takes a closer look at the gradual decline of his viewership, particularly among the 18-49 demo. Stephen will no doubt attract a younger audience, but only time will tell if The Late Show can get the upper hand, and finally beat The Tonight Show. The good news is that, according to The Wrap’s “Q Score” poll, Stephen is the most well-liked late-night TV host (“Stephen Colbert’s followers revere him” — indeed!). As to critical acclaim, it seems that Stephen has already earned enough of it for a lifetime; the challenge is now to live up to and possibly even surpass his own legacy!
Unsurprisingly, Letterman’s social media presence is not as impressive as his peer contemporaries. At the time of this publishing, “The Late Show” had just under 330,000 Twitter followers on its official account (@Letterman). For comparison, Dave’s replacement, Stephen Colbert, has a rounded 7.8 million fans on the social site. Letterman’s recently installed counterpart on CBS’s “Late Late Show,” James Corden, has 5.1 million followers. While ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel slightly bests Corden with 5.2 million and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon crushes them all as reigning social king with 25.2 million Twitter followers.
- James Corden on the State of Late Night – The New York Times
As part of a series of interviews about the state of late-night, James Corden shares his views on soon following Stephen Colbert, on celebrity-driven sketches, and on the future of late-night.
Do you expect a recalibration after Stephen Colbert takes over? Of course. Our job is to sit on the same seesaw as him, but the other end. No one starts watching television at 12:30. No one goes, “Oh! It’s 12:30. Let’s put the TV on.” Our viewers are inherited from the show before. I think. So I’m really excited to see Stephen’s show. I pinch myself at the thought that our little show is going to follow David Letterman’s last-ever show. And then we’re going to follow Stephen Colbert’s first-ever show.
Mr. Jee said he feared a summer slowdown, but hoped for a rebound, and maybe even another star turn, when Stephen Colbert moves into the theater and takes over the “Late Show” in September. “I might be retiring from show business, but not from the deli business,” Mr. Jee said. “I got a ways to go before that.”
One thing Kimmel does take very seriously is the upcoming Emmy race and where the prize in his category, Outstanding Variety Series, should go. “I really hope David Letterman gets nominated this year,” he says of Late Show With David Letterman, which hasn’t been nominated since 2009. “I think that would be the least we could do for him… I would like to see Letterman win the Emmy, absolutely. I can’t think of anyone more influential when it comes to comedy in America from my generation. This kind of absurdist comedy that Letterman taught us, (younger people) don’t realize where it came from. It came from him, and when he was doing it, he was doing it better than anybody.”
In the Press – May 2015
This month’s edition is unsurprisingly Letterman-heavy. David Letterman ended his 33-year late-night run on a ratings high note, as nearly 14 million people tuned into his last show. His retirement gave the media an opportunity to reflect on the late-night format and its place in American culture.
As for us Colbert fans, we are now entering the final stretch before The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s September premiere. The Ed Sullivan Theater has been cleared and is undergoing renovations; the staff has already started working on the show; Stephen made his first official appearance as Late Show host at the CBS upfront presentation; and the promotion for the show should be starting any time now (the sooner the better!).
Stephen Colbert
This article provides an analysis of what drew some people to Jay Leno’s type of humor and other people to Letterman’s. The author argues that the split between the two comedic sensibilities is likely to persist in the Fallon/Colbert era. While he doesn’t dwell on Stephen, I thought the way he talked about Letterman’s connection to his audience could have described our connection to The Colbert Report (“Letterman has structured both his show and his jokes such that they reward the faithful viewer’s long-term dedication … those same jokes will make his loyal viewers feel like insiders”).
So perhaps the networks have, for once, accurately identified the needs and wants of its current viewership, as they transition from Leno to Fallon and Letterman to Colbert. Letterman’s old viewers will find companionship in Colbert’s welcoming them in on the lifelong joke of their own absurdity, and Leno’s old viewers will be made by Jimmy Fallon to feel they are smart—or really to feel anything they choose to project onto his smile.
Jon Stewart
“The Daily Show” developed the program over the last three years without publicizing it, but now, because Mr. Stewart is preparing to leave the show, he has taken it into the open, urging other shows to develop their own programs to bring more veterans into the industry.
Late Night Television
There’s been a lot of talk about late-night TV’s identity crisis. These past couple of years have obviously been tumultuous: not only have we witnessed a real game of musical chairs, but the networks have also had to rethink their strategy at a time when viewing habits are shifting.
Stephen Colbert, 50, who played an acerbic political commentator on “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, will set aside this character when he takes over at “Late Show” in September. Prospective writers for his “Late Show” have been told the host still enjoys “active and silly comedy,” according to a set of submission guidelines these writers were provided, and have been asked to pitch jokes based on news stories as well as comedy bits Mr. Colbert can perform with guests.
“When it comes to digital content and personalities, Corden and Colbert are a huge focus right now,” said Jim Lanzone, president and chief executive of CBS Interactive. He was referring to recently installed late-night host James Corden, who is off to a strong start of YouTube, and Stephen Colbert, who replaces Late Show host David Letterman later this year.
Mr. Young, the writer, said he was told that offices had to be cleared by the end of Friday to prepare for employees of Mr. Letterman’s successor, Stephen Colbert, who arrive this summer.
AP: As executive producer of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ and ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ you’ve been leading elsewhere on NBC’s late-night lineup, while things are in flux for your competition at CBS, where ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ only premiered in March and Stephen Colbert won’t be taking over ‘Late Show’ from David Letterman until September.
Michaels: I think Corden is a wonderful performer and that he will figure it out. Almost everything before you go on the air is conceptual — and then, there’s the doing it. The doing it is what you learn from. And if you follow your successes, if you see the things that are working for you and that viewers are responding to, I think you generally get to a place that’s successful.
But I don’t think you’ll be able to tell what Corden’s show is until Colbert is in front of it. Once that lineup is in place, Colbert is formidable. He stands for intelligence and he’s a wonderful performer.
While Letterman has had a very clear edge over Jay Leno in terms of critical acclaim and enduring legacy, the same can’t be said of his ratings. The Wrap takes a closer look at the gradual decline of his viewership, particularly among the 18-49 demo. Stephen will no doubt attract a younger audience, but only time will tell if The Late Show can get the upper hand, and finally beat The Tonight Show. The good news is that, according to The Wrap’s “Q Score” poll, Stephen is the most well-liked late-night TV host (“Stephen Colbert’s followers revere him” — indeed!). As to critical acclaim, it seems that Stephen has already earned enough of it for a lifetime; the challenge is now to live up to and possibly even surpass his own legacy!
Unsurprisingly, Letterman’s social media presence is not as impressive as his peer contemporaries. At the time of this publishing, “The Late Show” had just under 330,000 Twitter followers on its official account (@Letterman). For comparison, Dave’s replacement, Stephen Colbert, has a rounded 7.8 million fans on the social site. Letterman’s recently installed counterpart on CBS’s “Late Late Show,” James Corden, has 5.1 million followers. While ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel slightly bests Corden with 5.2 million and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon crushes them all as reigning social king with 25.2 million Twitter followers.
As part of a series of interviews about the state of late-night, James Corden shares his views on soon following Stephen Colbert, on celebrity-driven sketches, and on the future of late-night.
Do you expect a recalibration after Stephen Colbert takes over? Of course. Our job is to sit on the same seesaw as him, but the other end. No one starts watching television at 12:30. No one goes, “Oh! It’s 12:30. Let’s put the TV on.” Our viewers are inherited from the show before. I think. So I’m really excited to see Stephen’s show. I pinch myself at the thought that our little show is going to follow David Letterman’s last-ever show. And then we’re going to follow Stephen Colbert’s first-ever show.
Mr. Jee said he feared a summer slowdown, but hoped for a rebound, and maybe even another star turn, when Stephen Colbert moves into the theater and takes over the “Late Show” in September. “I might be retiring from show business, but not from the deli business,” Mr. Jee said. “I got a ways to go before that.”
One thing Kimmel does take very seriously is the upcoming Emmy race and where the prize in his category, Outstanding Variety Series, should go. “I really hope David Letterman gets nominated this year,” he says of Late Show With David Letterman, which hasn’t been nominated since 2009. “I think that would be the least we could do for him… I would like to see Letterman win the Emmy, absolutely. I can’t think of anyone more influential when it comes to comedy in America from my generation. This kind of absurdist comedy that Letterman taught us, (younger people) don’t realize where it came from. It came from him, and when he was doing it, he was doing it better than anybody.”