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Stephen Colbert will replace Letterman as 'Late Show' host

The popular Comedy Central star will take over for David Letterman next year when the longtime host retires.

April 10, 2014 at 5:34PM
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert (Dennis McGrath/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Well, that was fast.

CBS announced Thursday that Stephen Colbert will take over when David Letterman retires sometime in 2015.

CBS president Leslie Moonves called Colbert "one of the most inventive and respected forces on television."

"I'm thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me," Colbert said in a statement. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth."

A few instant thoughts:

The quickness of this announcement has got to mean that CBS had Colbert in mind all along if and when Letterman decided to depart.

Colbert is a true talent, but we really haven't seen the real Colbert. It's a given that he'll drop the ultra-conservative, egotistical character he's been playing on Comedy Central.

Colbert is a good choice, but not a terribly bold one. It saddens me that the biggest network late-night battle will be between three white guys who are roughly the same age. My guess is that CBS will "retire" Craig Ferguson and bring in Chelsea Handler.

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The next big question: Who will follow Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show"?

about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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