Stephen Colbert to Host Election Night Special on Showtime

Unexpected ‘Late Show’ news has emerged from Showtime’s Television Critics Association summer press tour, with David Nevins revealing that Stephen Colbert is in talks to host a live election night special on Showtime.

“People don’t just want to watch CNN and Fox News. We want them to watch Showtime on election night,” Nevins said during his executive session, pointing out how fun it would be for viewers to watch Colbert announce which candidate won each state, instead of traditional news anchors.

While Nevins classed the news as a “half-announcement” because the deal has not been finalized yet, he noted, “I think it’s gonna happen — Stephen wants to do it, I want to do it, the studio wants to do it.” Colbert has the night off from his full-time role as host of CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on the night of the election — Tuesday, November 8 — Nevins said, which should make the special easier to wrangle with Showtime’s corporate sibling CBS.

“It’ll be Colbert unfettered, he’s promised he’ll say at least a couple curse words,” Nevins joked. “It’s something I’ve been trying to get him to do — he’s not on CBS that night anyway, so I think it’ll be really fun … He’s had a good time being more political.” – Variety.