As terrible as it was for Stephen Colbert and all others involved when CBS canceled The Late Show last year, that much-maligned decision has certainly led to some late night highlights and lowlights that might not have happened otherwise. One such positive outcome was the recent reunion for the former Strike Force Five quintet of Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon. The podcast conversation was filled with fun stories and anecdotes from each host, but the bulk of the focus was on the outgoing Late Show frontman.

In the midst of all the jibber-jabber, Jimmy Kimmel asked Stephen Colbert if there was a ever a guest whose attractiveness was distinct enough to become a distraction, and the Strangers with Candy vet had an answer locked and loaded.

Of all the guests that have sat across from Colbert’s various desks over the past 21 years (including both The Late Show and The Colbert Report), Dawson’s Creek and Fabelmans star Michelle Williams is the Hollywood starlet who turned the normally loquacious wordsmith speechless. He continued:

This makes me think talking to her about Dying for Sex’s sex scenes would be his anti-Kryptonite, and learning from the source that her oral sex skills have been strengthened due to working with intimacy coordinators. (The first season is streaming via Hulu subscription.)

Williams may hold that top honor, but Colbert shared that he had even stronger reactions in the past over Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz. As he put it:

The entire Strike Force Five conversation is a hoot to watch (stream it on YouTube), and I can only hope that this group is able to get together more often after The Late Show is over. Not that the other four won't still have their own late night jobs, but still. Hopes don't have to be logical.

The final Late Show with Stephen Colbert episode will air on CBS on Thursday, May 21, with Jimmy Kimmel taking the night off out of respect.

The end of May will bring about a big change to the 2026 TV schedule, and to those of successive years, as CBS will officially be out of the late night talk show biz. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is set to conclude on May 21, ten months after CBS officially canceled the long-running staple previously hosted by David Letterman. Some fans are expecting potentially calamitous fireworks upon his eventual exit, but Colbert’s former Comedy Central partner in crime has other thoughts.

Emmy-winning writer Ben Karlin spent seven years on The Daily Show before co-creating The Colbert Report with the titular D.C. native, so he and Colbert obviously have a solid relationship. While appearing on The Daily Beast’s Obsessed podcast to talk about his new series Bait (streaming via Amazon Prime subscription), Karlin was asked for his thoughts on whether the host will bow out in a blaze of politically polarizing glory, or something more traditional. He answered:

With this answer and others, Karlin made sure to note that he was speaking mainly for himself and not for anyone else, but I think he's pretty on the money with his assessment. Had The Late Show's final episode come in the weeks immediately following the cancellation announcement, when the sting was still fresh and emotions were all over the place, then I could maybe see Stephen Colbert stepping outside his gentlemanly comfort zone to turn full heel for his final stretch. (I kinda wish we had a Sliding Doors situation where we could see what that eventuality looked like.)

However, with the final episode set so many months after the decision was made, the initial heightened feelings have settled, and now it's become a more normalized end-date on the horizon. Granted, Colbert has caused some flashbangs over the months, particularly involving his non-televised interview with political candidate James Talarico, and the related dust-up with FCC chairman Brendan Carr.

Ben Karlin addressed that, in the scheme of things, Colbert's Late Night exit is about as good as it can get for a host facing an inevitable disappointment, since there has been such a long runway. In his words:

If losing every job came with the same kind of self-dictated endgame, I might have been far less employable in my life. But that's obviously not the way it goes for most people.

To his point, though, Colbert quickly started setting up new gigs for himself around the time of CBS' cancellation decision. He's popped up on Elsbeth and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and was recently a surprise guest voice in the Handmaid's Tale spinoff The Testaments. Perhaps the biggest news of all, however, is that he's working on writing a new Lord of the Rings movie, as inspired by Bill Hader. So it's safe to say he won't be twiddling his thumbs at home for the back half of 2026.

Plus, for all the upset feelings about being ousted, Karlin pointed out that getting out of late night after 11 years could be better than sticking with it for decades, as that format's success can be a double-edged sword. As he put it:

Stephen Colbert can definitely ride off into the sunset knowing that he delivered the goods as a worthy follow-up to David Letterman, and hopefully without any regrets. Oh yeah, and for that sunset, the sun is actually Jon Stewart's face.

The results of turning a hit TV series into a franchise can be hit-or-miss, to say the least. However, for every ill-received or mostly forgotten TV spin-off, there are many that managed to reach, or even exceed, the success of their predecessors. Take a look at some of our favorite examples below.

Frasier (Cheers)

Despite being added later in the series, Frasier Crane was one of the most beloved Cheers characters and right after it ended in 1993, Kelsey Grammer led the Frasier cast in his psychiatrist’s role’s self-titled spin-off. Like its parent series, it also lasted 11 seasons, won multiple Emmy Awards, and became one of the most acclaimed sitcoms of its time before being revived on Paramount+ in 2023.

Family Matters (Perfect Strangers)

Jo Marie Payton was on two seasons of Perfect Strangers as elevator operator Harriette Winslow before starring in the Family Matters cast in the same role for nine seasons. What initially began as a conventional family sitcom when it premiered in 1989 became a wildly successful cultural phenomenon with the addition of Jaleel White as Steve Urkel. 

Angel (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

David Boreanaz stole the show from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast as a good-natured bloodsucker named Angel and, eventually, earned his own series set in the same creature-infested universe. From 1999 until its 2004 cancellation, Angel followed the Boreanaz’s title character and other Buffy vets helping Los Angelenos with otherworldly problems.

Better Call Saul (Breaking Bad)

While he could have easily been viewed as merely the comic relief of the Breaking Bad cast, Bob Odenkirk — a former SNL writer and sketch comedy performer — experienced a career 180 by playing Saul Goodman. His performance as the shady lawyer only grew stronger when he became the center of the prequel series, Better Call Saul, which surpassed its predecessor in seasons (six) and Emmy snubs (53 nominations with zero wins, much to fans’ chagrin).

The Good Fight (The Good Wife)

The Good Wife was a CBS drama chronicling the personal and professional struggles of litigator Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies in a two-time Emmy-winning role) after a scandal lands her state attorney husband (played by Chris Noth) behind bars. Christie Baranski’s Diane Lockhart was the central focus of the sequel series, The Good Fight (exclusively available with a Paramount+ subscription), which earned two Emmy nominations during its six-season run.

The Facts Of Life (Diff'rent Strokes)

When Diff’rent Strokes debuted in 1978, Charlotte Rae’s Edna Garrett served as the Drummonds’ housekeeper. The following year, Rae reprised the role as the lead of The Facts of Life, in which she served as the housemother for boarding school students Blair (Lisa Whelchel), Tootie (Kim Fields), Natalie (Mindy Cohn), and Jo (Nancy McKeon).

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Star Trek)

While it was canceled after three years in 1969, Star Trek launched an out-of-this-world cultural phenomenon that lives on in several ongoing TV shows and even quite a few big-screen hits, as well. However, for some Trekkies, the best installment of the franchise is the multi-Emmy-winning Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was led by Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard for seven seasons.

The Punisher (Daredevil)

The first installment in a shared universe of Marvel TV shows originally exclusive to Netflix was Daredevil, which introduced Jon Bernthal in the role of Frank Castle in its second season. While the vengeful vigilante’s own spin-off only lasted two seasons, The Punisher was highly acclaimed, and Bernthal will continue playing the role into the future. 

Laverne & Shirley (Happy Days)

The long-running nostalgic sitcom Happy Days was the parent series of several well-known spin-offs, including Mork & Mindy and Joanie Loves Chachi, but easily the most successful of the bunch was Laverne & Shirley. Cindy Williams reprised her role as Shirley Feeney alongside Penny Marshall as the titular duo on the sitcom that became one of the most popular TV shows of its time and ran from 1976 to 1983.

Benson (Soap)

The most notorious scene-stealer from the cast of Soap — an acclaimed parody of daytime soap operas — was the late Robert Guillaume in the Emmy-winning role of Benson DuBois. The future Lion King voice cast member won his second Emmy when he reprised the character in his self-tilted spin-off, which saw him promoted from the Tates’ butler to working for a bumbling state governor. 

Xena: Warrior Princess (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)

The Kevin Sorbo-led Hercules: The Legendary Journeys begat two spin-offs — a prequel series called Young Hercules (starring Ryan Gosling in the title role) and Xena: Warrior Princess. The latter would run longer than its parent series (six years) and skyrocketed New Zealand-born Lucy Lawless to geek goddess status.

Boston Legal (The Practice)

James Spader originated the role of Alan Shore on Season 8 of The Practice before becoming one of the central figures of the legal drama’s direct continuation, Boston Legal. The series ran for more than 100 episodes and earned five Emmy Awards, including two for Spader and one for William Shatner as Denny Crane.

Melrose Place (Beverly Hills, 90210)

Among the the most popular ‘90s TV shows, two of the biggest titans of the serial drama category were Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place. Both series were created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling and existed in the same universe, with Grant Show’s Jake Hanson being the main connection.

Maude (All In The Family)

Before Bea Arthur joined the Golden Girls cast, she was best known for her Emmy-winning performance as the title role of Maude from 1972 to 1978. The late actor originated the outspoken character on an episode of All in the Family in which she visits her cousin, Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), and butts heads with Edith’s husband, Archie (Carroll O’Connor).

Mayans M.C. (Sons Of Anarchy)

Two years after Sons of Anarchy had its final curtain call in 2014, FX debuted another tale of outlaw bikers, set near the California-Mexico border, called Mayans M.C. While led by a new character named Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes (portrayed by J. D. Pardo), the series — which ended after five seasons in 2023 — also featured a few Sons of the Anarchy cast members, including Katey Sagal portraying Gemma Teller in the pilot.

House Of The Dragon (Game Of Thrones)

Even though many fans were disappointed by the Game of Thrones finale, that did not stop them from tuning into HBO’s prequel series. In addition to the stellar House of the Dragon cast, including Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy, the fantasy epic’s stirring writing and gorgeous production design earned it rave reviews, multiple Emmy nominations, and a Golden Globe win for Best Television Series - Drama after its first season.

NCIS (JAG)

Very rarely has a spin-off show outran its parent series, but that is the case with NCIS. Not only would the series last at least twice as long as JAG, which saw the debut of Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in its eighth season; but it also inspired multiple spin-offs of its own, including the long-running NCIS: Los Angeles.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Law & Order)

Before its revival in 2022, the initial run of Law & Order ran a whopping 20 seasons on NBC. The only subsequent installment in Dick Wolf’s franchise of crime dramas to last as long is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which was anchored by the chemistry between Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay as Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson.

Lou Grant (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)

One of the most successful examples of a spin-off that was almost nothing like the original show is Lou Grant. Following the end of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ed Asner earned his sixth and seventh Emmys for reprising the TV news producer on this more dramatic series in which he becomes a Los Angeles newspaper editor.

The Jeffersons (All In The Family)

After stealing the show on All in the Family as the Bunkers’ neighbors, George (Sherman Hemsley) and Louise “Weezy” Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) would “move on up to the East Side” in their own show. The Jeffersons only earned two Emmy Awards, but lasted an impressive 11 seasons and, in the process, became almost as influential as its parent series.

The Simpsons (The Tracey Ullman Show)

As the longest-running animated series of all time, The Simpsons has been around long enough that most modern audiences might not even remember (or were ever informed) about its origins. The dysfunctional family gained traction as a segment on The Tracey Ullman Show before creator Matt Groening developed a half-hour program based around them.

Batman Beyond (Batman: The Animated Series)

Most fans would agree that the all-time best Batman-related TV show is Batman: The Animated Series, but its futuristic follow-up, Batman Beyond, is not so far behind on that list. What started as a “terrible idea” (in the words of producer Bruce Timm to IGN) to reimagine the Dark Knight as a teenager evolved into an intriguing and inventive Neo-noir following an older Bruce Wayne (voiced by the late Kevin Conroy) mentoring his young successor, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle).

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (The Andy Griffith Show)

Charmingly naive mechanic Gomer Pyle became a fan-favorite character on The Andy Griffith Show following his introduction in Season 3. Jim Nabors went on to reprise the role on another hit sitcom called Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., in which the character becomes a marine. 

The Colbert Report (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart)

Few Daily Show correspondents made as grand an impact during host Jon Stewart’s legendary stint than Stephen Colbert as an over-the-top conservative version of himself. He went on to host his own, arguably funnier late-night Comedy Central original, The Colbert Report, before retiring the character for good when he was chosen to replace David Letterman on CBS’s Late Show.

Rhoda (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)

The first spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, revolved around Valerie Harper in the title role returning to her native New York City, where she meets and marries Joe Gerard (David Groh). The latter seasons of the sitcom’s five-year run saw Rhoda becoming one of TV’s most iconic divorcees when she and Joe split.

CSI: Miami (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

The CSI franchise involves two series set in Vegas, another set in New York, a short-lived version dedicated to cybercrime, and is even set in the same universe as Without a Trace and Cold Case. Perhaps the one installment with the most cultural impact is CSI: Miami, with much credit due to David Caruso’s iconic performance as quip master, Lt. Horatio Caine.

Emergency! (Adam-12)

The pilot episode of Emergency! featured Martin Milner and Kent McCord as their respective characters from Adam-12, officers Peter Malloy and Jim Reed — establishing it as a spin-off of the police procedural. However, as MeTV.com recalls, a later episode featured some of Station 51’s firefighters watching an episode of its parent series, which is just one strange continuity error from an otherwise exciting and grounded drama.

The Flash (Arrow)

The CW’s shared universe of DC TV shows is collectively referred to as the “Arrowverse,” with Arrow being the one that started it all in 2012. One might argue that the best of these spin-offs (and one of the best modern superhero TV shows in general) is The Flash, starring Grant Gustin as a version of lightning-fast Barry Allen who was first introduced in Arrow’s second season.

Empty Nest (The Golden Girls)

A follow-up to The Golden Girls called The Golden Palace, in which the characters (sans Dorothy) manage a hotel together, was far less successful than Empty Nest, which was branched off from a 1987 Golden Girls episode. Notably, however, the series that came to be, and lasted seven seasons, merely borrowed the concept of the original backdoor pilot (a middle-aged couple with “empty nest syndrome”). It employed a whole new cast and characters, but still established the Golden Girls characters as their neighbors.

Justice League Unlimited (Justice League)

One of the most acclaimed DC TV shows is Justice League, which saw Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and others coming together amid an extra-terrestrial threat. The hit animated series continued in the form of Justice League Unlimited, which saw the crew expand to an innumerable quantity by employing even some of the most obscure and underrated characters from the comics.

The Parkers (Moesha)

After four seasons on the Brandy Norwood-led sitcom Moesha, Countess Vaughn left the show after UPN greenlit a sitcom focusing on her own fan-favorite character, Kim Parker. The Parkers lasted more than 100 episodes and featured a scene-stealing performance by future Oscar winner Mo’Nique as Kim’s mother, Nikki.

Knots Landing (Dallas)

Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark) from the blockbuster primetime soap opera, Dallas, were given a series of their own in 1979. Knots Landing turned out to be a blockbuster itself, lasting 14 seasons, much like its parent series.

Next time you see a spin-off to your favorite hit series, don’t be quick to judge. It could end up being as successful as any of these.

We have officially reached the end of an era - an “epilogue,” if you will - pioneered by a pair of French musicians whose impact on pop culture, beyond even just music, cannot be exaggerated, inspiring memorable needle drops (such as in Iron Man 2) and giving TRON: Legacy one of the coolest film scores in years. Their revolutionarily eclectic styles and unique guise of anonymity made Daft Punk key to bringing electronic dance music into the mainstream - an achievement some may not have comprehended to its full extent until just recently.

On February 22, 2021, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter revealed that they were calling it quits after first forming in Paris in 1993. The announcement came in the form of an excerpt from the duo’s 2006 film Daft Punk’s Electroma in which the band members’ dramatized counterparts (depicted as actual robots and portrayed by different actors) are walking in the desert when Bangalter silently requests Homem-Christo  to initiate his self-destruct function before going their separate ways. Even for the few who have managed to see the rare avant-garde, sci-fi cult favorite, the clip is a haunting eight minutes, especially when associated with their mysterious split.

Ironically, Electroma, which the Daft Punk directed, does not include any of their own music, but the films and TV series to which they have contributed their talents would only make them harder, better, sometimes even faster, and definitely stronger. In honor of their 28 years changing the face of music without showing their faces, we look back on five of those memorable moments, starting with another “break-up,” of sorts, between two heroes in shiny, metal masks.

Iron Man 2 (2010) - “Robot Rock”

About halfway into Jon Favreau's sequel to his 2008 MCU kick-off film, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) puts an end to Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) birthday party by donning the Mark II (his future War Machine suit) and challenging his troubled friend, being reckless with his Iron Man armor, to a fight. The drunken billionaire then asks his DJ to give him "a fat beat to beat [his] buddy's ass to," setting off a medley that concludes, at the quarrel's most destructive peak, with Daft Punk's "Robot Rock."

While the lead single of the duo's third studio album, Human After All, lasts only mere seconds in Iron Man 2, its explosive fusion of classic metal with dizzying electro remains one of the most memorably and humorously appropriate tracks to appear in a film whose official soundtrack was an AC/DC compilation. Of course Daft Punk were the primary musical source for another blockbuster that year.

TRON: Legacy (2010) - The Entire Soundtrack

Daft Punk had never done the score for a feature-length motion picture (at least as a collaborative effort) before first-time director Joseph Kosinski approached them with the idea of composing his 2010 sequel to Disney's TRON. The film, which currently has another follow-up in the works, sees Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) reunite with his long-lost father, Kevin (Jeff Bridges), in the competitive world of a computer simulation he was once trapped in years earlier, which has received a major update.

Daft Punk actually looked to Wendy Carlos, composer for the original 1982 sci-fi classic, for inspiration when crafting the music for TRON: Legacy, in which the duo appear as DJs who bump on their chart-topping single "Derezzed" when a fight breaks out in a Grid night club owned by the villainous Zuse (Michael Sheen). The soundtrack received a Grammy-nomination, hit gold in record sales, and received better reviews overall than the film it originated from.

The Colbert Report (2013) - “Get Lucky”

Two Grammy Award wins and multi-platinum sales were achieved with "Get Lucky," the lead single off of Daft Punk's fourth (and final, as it would turn out) studio album Random Access Memories. The groovy and elating mega-hit, featuring Pharrell Williams, would show up in many works of media in 2013, and in years to follow, but none so uniquely and infectiously as on an episode of The Colbert Report in a now iconic moment that almost never happened.

When the duo was forced to cancel their appearance on the Comedy Central series at the last minute, Stephen Colbert and company made up for lost time by shooting a montage of the host dancing to "the song of the summer" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Charlie Rose Show with the cast of Breaking Bad, in a stairwell with TRON: Legacy's Jeff Bridges, and elsewhere. The clip became an immediate viral sensation and proved that, even in their absence, Daft Punk can still strike gold and Colbert could still, indeed, get lucky.

I May Destroy You (2020) - “Something About Us”

There is not much that is groovy or elating about I May Destroy You, creator and star Michaela Coel's autobiographical account of her struggles to overcome her experience with sexual assault. However, the BBC One/HBO original drama is not without moments that gave the audience a breather, thanks in part to Daft Punk.

The group's 2001 single "Something About Us," from their breakthrough sophomore album Discovery, plays twice in the miniseries, most notably at the end of its third episode, which sees Arabella (Coel) watching the sunset on a beach with drug dealer Biagio (Marouane Zotti), who pulls out his phone to play the soft funk love ballad. This would turn out to be one of the last pleasant moments they would share. Yet, with the music of Daft Punk, a tender, endearing memory it would remain.

Wherever “One More Time” Is Heard

Speaking of endearing memories, how many from your own life can you think of that do not involve Daft Punk's celebration of the act of celebration itself? "One More Time," another track from Discovery which, arguably, made them superstars, is a dance club staple that has also become a reliable source to add a little extra excitement to some films and TV shows

The ceaselessly repeatable song was first used on the fifth season of Daria (and was the third Daft Punk song to appear on the MTV cartoon), which was followed by a 2006 episode of Veronica Mars, was one of four songs by the duo to appear in Eden (a 2014 drama about the French House music movement in 1990s), and, by then, it would become a tradition at sporting events, too. While "Get Lucky" has clearly become their more frequently used Daft Punk in pop culture by now, "One More Time" still never fails to get rise out of people.

After this week, fans around the world would be living the high life if Daft Punk would come back together at least for one more time. Yet, it seems the game has changed and the illustrious, innovative hitmakers have reached the end of the line. Until we could one day get lucky to see them reconcile, at least you can still lose yourself to dance with these hits that will remain kept alive as fragments of time throughout pop culture.

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It's felt a little off to go through election season without the Colbert Report on the air, but Stephen Colbert has been doing his best to fill the gap left by himself as the host of The Late Show on CBS. But with President Obama about to leave office, Colbert felt that he alone simply wasn't up to the task of summarizing eight years worth of history in five minutes. No, you'd have to be a "delusional egomaniac" to try something like that, but Colbert knows just the maniac for the job...or at least he knows his cousin.

Due to legal reasons, the Stephen Colbert who hosted the Colbert Report on Comedy Central can not show his face on CBS, so we have to rely on a man who happens to have a similar face: Stephen Colbert. The identical cousin of the Colbert Report host, Stephen "Got It In Me" Colbert reported "live via satellite" from the cabin he shares with Jon Stewart on Mount Justice. Colbert was anxious to share his thoughts of President Obama's tenure in the White House, since Obama was a "worthy adversary," and Colbert was happy to agree with the opposite of everything the president said.

Colbert took to the stage with elven sword and Captain America's shield in hand, sending the audience (and one really excited guy heard shouting over everyone else) into a chorus of applause. Using the format of classic Colbert Report desk piece "The Word" (now changed to "The Werd"), Colbert went into his monologue with the classic contradictory sidebar. However, even the conservative Colbert couldn't keep it together towards the end, not really knowing what he was going to do with himself now that he didn't have Obama to disagree with anymore. Could he stay for just a little bit longer? Or at "least leave Joe Biden?"

The real life host has to settle for Colbert's "cousin" due to Comedy Central owning the intellectual rights to the character, despite the late night funnyman having played said character for 10 years. Colbert briefly resurrected his creation in full during the summer to talk about the election. That bit earned him a warning from a corporate lawyer of "another company" saying that he couldn't use the character. This eventually resulted in the identical twin cousin whose only visible difference from his cousin is his Ashley Olsen birthmark (the other Colbert has Mary-Kate). Colbert has brought in the cousin a few times since then, mostly to share his views on the 2016 election, but now we might never see him again. Thanks, Obama.

It might be harder to find the conservative Stephen Colbert nowadays, but you can always catch the real-life Stephen Colbert when he hosts The Late Show with Steven Colbert, airing weeknights at 11:35 p.m. EST on CBS.

Stephen Colbert has become one of the biggest names on the late night scene thanks to his job as host of The Late Show on CBS. He scored the CBS gig after proving himself as a late night personality on The Colbert Report. He was a fixture on Comedy Central for nearly a decade, playing a wildly and hilariously conservative version of himself. The move to CBS was a big promotion, but it turns out that Colbert had trouble leaving his fictionalized self behind. He had this to say about bailing on the Stephen Colbert character:

The former Colbert Report host has been open about his thoughts on making the move from Comedy Central to CBS prior to this. Before the changeover, he was looking to end The Colbert Report because he believed that it was no longer what the American people needed from late night comedy, and he wasn't entirely confident about taking on hosting duties on The Late Show because he just wasn't sure if he'd enjoy it enough to sell it to viewers. It was a big move, and it was pretty messy for a while. Chelsea Handler was publicly critical of his take on the series, and ratings were far from phenomenal. His first episode very nearly didn't even make it to the air, and his time on The Late Show didn't get much easier for some time. He now says this is because he was grappling with the "mask" or the personality he used to use during his time on Comedy Central and trying to figure out how to be his own person in a more buttoned up late night environment.

The Late Show has gone through several major shakeups ever since Stephen Colbert took the reins. CBS brought in former CBS This Morning producer Chris Licht to lift some of the production responsibilities from Colbert's shoulders and allow him to focus more on his role in front of the camera. Then, executive producer Meredith Bennett left The Late Show. Huge changes behind the scenes may have resulted in an upswing in the quality of the series.

It might have been easy for Stephen Colbert to fall back on his character from The Colbert Report in the face of so many difficulties. The lukewarm reception had to be discouraging, and he was a huge hit on The Colbert Report, although his reach on Comedy Central was much more limited than on CBS. Still, The Late Show almost certainly wouldn't have worked if Colbert went back to his political lampooning roots, and his performance as he moved out of his comfort zone has gotten better and better. He even felt comfortable playing his Colbert Report character at one point during his coverage of the 2016 presidential election, and he managed to slip in and out of the role with ease. His posit that he struggled with the transition, as noted in the interview with The Fresh, helps explain why The Late Show got off to a slow start, but his decision to move to CBS seems to be starting to pay off.

Tune in to CBS on weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET to see what Stephen Colbert has in store next on The Late Show.

Late night funnyman Stephen Colbert's jump from Comedy Central to CBS for The Late Show meant that his fans would get to see a lot more of him, but no more of the "Dr. Stephen T. Colbert" character from The Colbert Report. Dr. Stephen was a fictionalized version of Colbert who was conservative, right-wing, well-intentioned, and slightly off his rocker. The Colbert Report became the perfect weeknight chaser to Jon Stewart's more overtly liberal Daily Show. Although both comic newsmen are gone from Comedy Central now, Stewart will soon join Colbert on The Late Show during the upcoming Republican National Convention. According to Stephen Colbert, the reunion may mean that Dr. Stephen will make a reappearance. Here's what he's teased so far about the character possibly re-emerging despite his departure from The Colbert Report:

Stephen Colbert revealed that his Colbert Report character may be coming back when he stopped by CBS This Morning to discuss his upcoming live coverage of the Republican National Convention, which will take place in Cleveland starting on July 18. Despite Colbert leaving The Colbert Report, because he felt that people no longer wanted the sort of divisive comedy that he put out with his satire, it makes sense that he'll reprise Dr. Stephen for the RNC. The 2016 presidential election will be the first since Colbert left his fake news show on Comedy Central; frankly, campaign season just wouldn't feel right without Dr. Stephen transforming political ridiculousness into political hilarity.

Of course, Dr. Stephen might never have been so funny if he didn't work as a foil to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, which aired in the timeslot immediately before The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Their shows together made for a fabulous hour of fake news for four nights per week. The fact that Jon Stewart will be appearing on The Late Show just as Dr. Stephen evidently returns is all the more reason to get excited.

The duo shouldn't have any trouble getting back into their old rhythm once more. They may no longer host shows on the same network, but they still work together. Jon Stewart is an executive producer for The Late Show, and he's been in front of the camera a few times with Stephen Colbert as well.

Personally, I've found that the 2016 presidential election hasn't felt right without the dynamic duo of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart turning the depressing into the entertaining. I can only hope at this point that Dr. Stephen is as much fun as I remember from his years as star of The Colbert Report. Luckily, none of us will have to wait too long to see if Jon Stewart can bring Dr. Stephen out in Stephen Colbert once more. Their episode of The Late Show airs on Monday, July 18 to kick off RNC coverage in style.

Last night, Comedy Central aired the episode of The Colbert Report we’ve all been waiting for. While Stephen Colbert and his team were in our nation’s great capital for a visit to George Washington University they roped in the person who is arguably the biggest guest that a politically-oriented talk show can currently have on: President Obama. Catch him taking over The Colbert Report, below.

Colbert is preparing to introduce the new episode of The Colbert Report when President Obama walks onstage. The host exclaims he didn’t expect Obama for another three minutes, to which the President replies with a real zinger.

The President actually does a pretty good job with Colbert’s opening monologue, giving us “The Decree,” a segment which is all about Obamacare, its effects on the American populace, and how to kill it off before it gets any further by “scaring away young people.” Hilariously, the goal is to read the words exactly as they were written for Stephen Colbert, which means Obama not only refers to himself as Stephen Colbert a couple of times, he also goes on a rant about how “arrogant” the President actually is. But don’t take my word for it—seriously check out the opening; it even features Obama doing Colbert’s pen trick.

The President’s takeover of The Colbert Report was announced just a few days ago, during which Colbert also mentioned the awesomely appropriate name for last night’s episode, “Stephen Colbert Presents: Mr. Colbert Goes to Washington D.C. Ya Later, Legislator: Partisan is Such Sweet Sorrow: A Colbert Victory Lap, ‘014.” This isn’t the first time Barack Obama has popped up on a Comedy Central show. He has also appeared on The Daily Show and even briefly showed up on a pre-taped Colbert Report segment that also featured Hilary Clinton and John Edwards (at the time, he hadn’t even earned the POTUS title, yet). This time around, it’s a way bigger deal, as Obama was a huge part of the episode, which was taped at the university in front of a large crowd. I’m sure it was a security nightmare for his Secret Service team, but it was totally worth it for the final product.

It’s pretty sweet that the President was able to be a part of the show this year. Stephen Colbert only has a few more episodes left of The Colbert Report before he leaves Comedy Central to take over David Letterman’s timeslot over at CBS. The man already has big plans for his finale, and while we are sad his show is ending sooner rather than later, we’re happy he gets to do things as cool as event tapings and Barack Obama appearances until he completes his last monologue for Comedy Central.

When you have a talk show that’s dedicated to a certain subject matter, the goal is to always get the biggest name in the biz involved. Stephen Colbert is bringing the politically satirical Colbert Report to a close this month, but before he goes, he has landed his very first live interview with the President of the United States himself, Barack Obama. Patriotic rating: five bald eagles each sewing two American flags into the shape of an apple pie.

Colbert made the big announcement on The Colbert Report Thursday night, with the Presidential visit anchoring the show’s one-night-only trip to Washington D.C. The interview will take place on Monday at George Washington University, and I believe we can all appreciate the effort that went into this goofy and longwinded title for the episode, considering he’s got Washington’s main man sitting down with him.

It just can’t be topped. In the announcement, Colbert said he is “so honored to be sitting down with the man who sat down with Bill O’Reilly.” Nyuk, nyuk. What I would pay to see the three of them in the same room together, where each of them is down around two bottles of wine.

Obama has made appearances on The Colbert Report in the past, to be sure, just not in a proper interview setting. (The POTUS has been more keen on making appearances over at The Daily Show though.) He appeared via satellite as a senator in 2008 along with Hilary Clinton and John Edwards for a bit, and then again in 2009 via a pre-taped segment, which went along with Colbert shaving his head that time on the air. Check out the White House’s behind-the-scenes vid of that taping below.

This is one of The Colbert Report’s final episodes, with the last one airing on Thursday, December 18. He’ll have new Late Late Show host James Corden and Serial podcast host Sarah Koenig on after Obama, and he’s set to take on hosting duties of CBS’ Late Show next year.

What are the chances Colbert slips a question past Obama’s “Talk Show Question Squad Unit,” or whoever screens that kind of thing? Find out when Stephen Colbert out-Colberts himself on Monday, December 8, and head over to Comedy Central to watch the announcement as it happened.

By now, you probably realize that Stephen Colbert will be leaving Comedy Central very, very soon. He’s set to take over for David Letterman on the late night circuit, but he says he wants to leave The Colbert Report with an awesome exit. Check out the epic video looking at his plans for The Colbert Report’s final episode, below.

Last night’s episode of The Colbert Report was a milestone episode for Colbert, who explains that when he first was signed on to host the show on Comedy Central, it was for an 8-week tryout—or 32 episodes. He obviously went on to nab a full season order and has spent a whopping 10 seasons on the network in the time since. As of last night, however, Colbert had 32 episodes left to host his series and so he decided to celebrate the milestone event, noting, “Tonight we explore the most critical story of all—me.”

While most of Colbert’s last episodes will feature his usual bombastic onscreen presence and over-the-top interviewing tactics, he’s already planning ahead for The Colbert Report finale, which will definitely go out with a bang. Here’s some of the ideas Colbert has been tossing around.

Colbert throws out a slew of humorous TV related references to explain his ideal vision for the finale. While he’s just joking around for now, we do expect the ender for The Colbert Report to be a fun and dynamic episode of the series that will sendoff Colbert in style.

Considering the next segment he jokingly introduces is a Chihuahua getting a neck massage, it’s a bit weird to think of him buttoning up a bit to head over to network television. He’ll have to leave his character-based personality behind and take a totally different approach in order to identify to the broader market that tunes in to watch late night talk shows on CBS. Obviously the network is confident that Colbert can deliver and we’ll see how he fares as soon as Letterman officially retires in 2015.

Back in 2005, The Daily Show sent off a prime correspondent to change the world one liberal at a time with the satirical newsfotainment series The Colbert Report. Comedy Central is hoping for dual strikes of lightning, as they’re using the same process to fill Stephen Colbert's timeslot, which he'll be vacating next year to replace David Letterman as host of CBS’ Late Night. Let’s all give a big round of welcoming applause to The Daily Show’s Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore, who will host the half-eponymous news panel series The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore.

A black guy hosting a show with “minority” in the title sounds pretty kitschy, but this definitely won’t be a one-joke pony. Created by Jon Stewart, who will also serve as executive producer with Wilmore, The Minority Report will take on the news stories that aren’t normally the go-to fare for late night news shows. Does that mean it’ll be packed with awful stories that people on Facebook post with the message: “Why isn’t the national news media covering this?” Or will they deliver genuinely interesting stories – i.e. anything involving science – that get passed over for whatever is more buzzworthy and ratings-friendly?

As for the format of the show itself (via Deadline), we can expect a “distinct point of view” and Wilmore will be joined for at least part of each episode by “a diverse panel of voices currently underrepresented in comedy and television,” with more details to come. The words “diverse” and “underrepresented,” while somewhat synonymous with the looser definition of minority, bring to mind a revolving door panel of black women, Ukrainians, amputees, vampires and D&D players. I’m intrigued.

Wilmore is (wil)more than qualified to anchor The Minority Report, lest anyone have any reservations there. The Emmy Award-winning writer/creator of The Bernie Mac Show and The PJs has had a long career that stretches back to writing and occasionally performing on the still-hilarious sketch series In Living Color. His onscreen work became more noteworthy once he joined the Daily Show staff, and he can be seen in films such as Dinner for Schmucks and the recent comedy Date and Switch, as well as TV shows like Happy Endings and The Office, as seen in the picture above.

If you’re interested in a lengthier look at Wilmore front and center, set aside some time for the video below, in which Wilmore delivers a poignant and constantly humorous take on society for the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2012.

Expect to find The Minority Report hitting Comedy Central in January 2015. In the meantime, you can get all your current ex-Daily Show correspondent news show goodness, tune into HBO on Sundays for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The more funny news we have on TV, the better.

There were a lot of upsets, obvious wins, and sort-of surprises during last night's 2013 Emmy Awards telecast. Among these was a huge primetime win in the Outstanding Variety Series category that was overshadowed a bit by big wins for the likes of Breaking Bad, Veep and Behind the Candelabra. The win that was likely the most impressive but the least talked about was Stephen Colbert’s dethroning of John Stewart’s The Daily Show for the first time in a decade.

The Colbert Report and The Daily Show have been competitors ever since Colbert actually left Stewart’s show back in 2005 to branch out on his own. Over the years, The Daily Show has been known for consistent interviews and comedy while The Colbert Report has made a name for itself with zany comedy sketches and viral videos that can get people of all ages on the same page. No one has doubted that The Colbert Report is a fine variety program, as are some of last night’s other nominees in the category, including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Saturday Night Live. Regardless, this year’s awards serve to put a spotlight on the end of an era and what should prove to be the beginning of a new one.

The award actually used to be called Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series, but if you take a look at the Emmys official site, you’ll notice that not only has The Daily Show been nominated for this award every year since 2001, the program has won every one of these awards since 2002, when the series lost to Late Night with David Letterman. That’s 10 years of statues for The Daily Show--a streak that was well-earned, but made to be broken.

Colbert, for his part, wasn’t shy about giving a nod to Stewart during his speech, talking about how it was Stewart who encouraged the Comedy Central host to go out there and be a “professional idiot” in a full-time gig. He also spoke out about being around when Stewart had won Emmy’s before, noting that Stewart had never explained how good it really felt to win.

Leading into this fall, variety programs are totally moving into a new era. Colbert’s got the Emmy win to back him, Kimmel’s just settled into his new timeslot and will soon be competing full-time against Fallon, and SNL is offering fans a cast that is chock full of new featured players. The Daily Show is certainly not going anywhere, but the doors are wide open for interesting new talent and innovation. The Outstanding Variety Series category at the Emmys should be one to watch. I’m just hoping W. Kamau Bell gets his name up there eventually.

Photo Credit @ Monty Brinton/CBS ©2013

When Daft Punk didn’t appear on The Colbert Report last week, it was a bit of a disaster. The famous French duo was forced to cancel at the very last minute, thanks to MTV getting in a tizzy about the appearance. Viacom forced The Colbert Show to cancel the appearance on MTV’s sister network, Comedy Central, citing the fact that Daft Punk was scheduled to appear at the MTV Video Music Awards as the big problem. All of this was explained by Stephen Colbert when the group didn’t show up last week, but now that the man has spoken a little further on the matter, it almost seems as if the appearance was rife with problems from the start.

It was Colbert’s team who initially asked Daft Punk to appear on the show and it didn't turn out the way the veteran TV host had hoped. He recently popped up on an episode of The Paul Mercurio Show podcast to talk about a whole host of things—Daft Punk's mischeduling included. You can tell throughout the podcast that Colbert’s trying to maintain a rational perspective about the whole incident, but you can equally tell that the ordeal was a big pain in the ass.

Initially, the “Get Lucky” guys seemed extremely excited to come on to the show, with Colbert graciously noting they were fans and that helped Comedy Central to book the duo. Then, weird little things started happening. The band didn’t want to perform. They didn’t want to talk. Other troubles also arose.

Eventually, Colbert says he came up with the workaround the show eventually employed, which featured the talk host dancing with a bunch of his celebrity friends to "Get Lucky," and even popping on to the sets of famous shows like America’s Got Talent and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Watching Jeff Bridges wiggle and Matt Damon dance from within a booth is totally worth it and was a great way to save face in light of getting “Daft Punk’d.”

Colbert also says that the challenge was interesting, and his team was able to come up with an agreeable way to get Daft Punk to work out on the show without talking or performing. That’s when The Colbert Report realized the band was set to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards. At first, this didn’t seem like a major issue, but Viacom had the last word and the powers that be said that MTV had the rights to Daft Punk, whatever that really means. If you want to hear about the whole long and tangled narrative, you can check out the full podcast, below. The Daft Punk talk starts around the 24-minute mark.

Depending on who you ask, the song of the summer is either Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" or Daft Punk's "Get Lucky." "Blurred Lines" has the edge on the charts, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for the last 7 weeks in a row, but "Get Lucky" might have just gained on it thanks to the coveted Colbert Bump. Daft Punk was apparently scheduled to appear on The Colbert Report last night to actually play "Get Lucky" in person (from behind their signature helmets, of course), but Viacom-- which owns both Comedy Central and MTV-- bumped them, to save the surprise of their appearance on the Video Music Awards at the end of this month. So Colbert, after eviscerating the corporation for the decision and spoiling the surprise, struck back in the way only Colbert can: a dance party with all his celebrity friends.

Watch the entire sequence above, then watch it again, then watch it a third time to compare Jeff Bridges' ass-waggle to Matt Damon's finger guns, then watch it a fourth time to ensure that "Get Lucky" is stuck in your head for the rest of your life. Then watch 10 more seconds of the song in the video below, in which Colbert dances with the "Hyundai executives" who were on hand for the Daft Punk performance that never happened. There are so many levels of meta here that I honestly don't know if Hyundai paid big bucks to promote Daft Punk's appearance…. but I do know it's unlikely real auto executives can get down like that, or manage to sit so quietly when the dance party actually began.

So you're still not convinced that "Get Lucky" is the true song of the summer, Billboard charts be damned? OK, fine. In a last-second reveal, just at the point when the Colbert musical guest would normally start playing, Stephen was rescued by a guest in the audience… and it was Robin Thicke! One quick C-shaped Bat Signal later and Thicke was set up onstage to perform "Blurred Lines." And, say what you will about the man, the music video or the generally rapey lyrics of the song itself, but Thicke's charisma sells the song every single time.

If the sight of someone dancing around New York City fills your heart with a very specific kind of joy, there's a way to relive that feeling for the length of an entire feature film. The movie Girl Walk // All Day, which can be watched in its entirety here, follows a deceptively simple and similar premise: a girl busts out of ballet class, makes her way across New York City and gets into adventures, all set to the Girl Talk album All Day. It's not set to "Get Lucky," but it's incredibly fun and life-affirming. Check out the trailer below.

Paul McCartney is never one to say no to a great promotional opportunity and next week he plans to head to The Colbert Report for an epic hour-long event. The show is known for occasionally putting together musical segments, but when McCartney hits the stage on June 12, he’ll be the man of the hour and will contribute both music and an interview for the tenure of the show. McCartney’s appearance will mark the second time The Colbert Report has featured a one-hour musical extravaganza. The first time the concept was attempted was in September of 2011, when Radiohead appeared on the show.

The former Beatles and Wings performer will play a lot of fan favorites during the hour-long episode. On Wednesday, Comedy Central reported that McCartney is set to play music from his Out There Tour, as well as the Wings of America 2013 reissue of the album of the same name that was initially released in 1976. Colbert, in usual humorous fashion, had something to say about the appearance.

The Wednesday, June 12 appearance will actually mark the first time McCartney has appeared in a musical capacity on the show, but it won’t be the first time he and Colbert have chatted. In 2009, McCartney popped on set for an interview with the funnyman. Not only will the music add a bit of excitement this time around, but the show will also make an exclusive track available via Colbert’s site.

Honestly, McCartney always seems to be game for random performances and events. In the TV realm, he’s also been a guest on SNL on several occasions, and the cast and audience always seem to love it when he pops in. If you’re a fan of music, Colbert, or McCartney, the June 12 episode should be a good one to tune in for.

The Colbert Report airs Mondays through Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.

"To Boston. Thank you. Thank you for once again, in the face of gross inhumanity, inspiring and solidifying my belief in humanity and the people of this country," Jon Stewart told the people of Boston when addressing the Marathon bombing at the start of last night's Daily Show. The host went on to equate New York's competitive spirit with Boston to sibling rivalry. "We are your brothers and sisters in this type of event," he said. "As a city that knows the feeling of confusion, anger and grief, and chaos that comes with these events, I can tell you from personal experience. You have a hell of a city going on there. And you've done an incredible job."

It's interesting that Stewart should point that out, as we've seen a similar sentiment expressed quite a bit since Monday. I've seen a number of memes on my Facebook wall sending positive thoughts from New York to Boston, some of which acknowledge the known rivalry between the cities (particularly as it relates to baseball).. There's also the great cartoon posted in The New Yorker, which shows a man in a Yankees hat holding the hand of a little girl. Both are wearing Boston t-shirts and the man is telling the girl, "Yes, we like the Yankees, but today we're all rooting for Boston." Stewart's probably right on the money with that "sibling rivalry" comment.

Gawker shared the Daily Show video along with this one, from The Colbert Report, during which Stephen Colbert discusses what Boston people are made of.

"Here's what these cowards really don't get. They attacked the Boston marathon," he said. "An event celebrating people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw for fun." He went on to reference the runners who finished the marathon and then continued to run to the hospital to donate blood. "Here's what I know. These maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston, but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are."

Colbert and Stewart weren't the only hosts to address the Boston Marathon bombing during their shows. On Monday night, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel also had things to say. You can watch the videos for those here.

It was a dark time for our nation last week, as all kinds of politicians got up to all kinds of shenanigans, and yet there was no clear-voiced, self-important fake TV personality to make sense of it all. Jokes aside, it was oddly jarring to see The Colbert Report take a sudden hiatus at the end of last week, and all kinds of rumors flew around the Internet about what might have caused the break. Most of us were just hoping that both Colbert and his family were in good health, and now that Colbert has returned to his anchor chair, he has taken the opportunity to explain the rumors and welcome himself back into our hearts.

If you're looking for the real answer, the key is that last little "confidential to a lovely lady" bit-- Colbert's mother, widely rumored as the rumor for his absence, did indeed raise 11 children, and at 91 years old must by definition be tough as nails. It seems safe to assume that Lorna Colbert got through her illness just fine, which makes her all the more amazing-- and explains something about how she raised such an impressive son.

Stephen Colbert is kind of singular among famous people, especially comedians, who you would want to have as your brother-in-law, or your son, or even just your friendly neighbor. Even when he's hiding it behind the blowhard Stephen Colbert character, it's nice to see him give a heartfelt shoutout to his mom-- right after a joke about getting an ass-lift, of course.

After an expected Wednesday episode of The Colbert Report inexplicably did not air, TV Blend learned the politically inclined Comedy Central late night show had suspended production for the remainder of this week. At the time, audience members were sent a somewhat worrisome e-mail citing “unforeseen forces” as the culprit behind the cancelled tapings.

As we pointed out earlier, Stephen Colbert does not cancel shows for any old reason, although he did make a last minute cancellation once upon a time when buddy Jon Stewart had a child. So, the fact the show cancelled production for more than a day with very little warning made my imaginative mind reel with images of a plague-like bug making zombies out of The Colbert Report's employees. Luckily, the issue seems to be a little less epic than my imagination inspired, but also a lot sadder.

One person’s illness is behind the lack of Colbert Report tapings this week. Before you panic, the illness is not Stephen Colbert’s. Instead, The New York Post is reporting Colbert’s mother, Lorna Colbert, is not doing well. The Post’s report uses the word “ailing” to describe the illness, which generally points to something more serious than the average flu. Although no official statement has come from either Comedy Central or Colbert, the cancelled tapings and Colbert’s mother’s age – she’s an advanced 91- are further evidence of something serious.

Our thoughts go out to the Colbert family as they work through a tenuous and potentially difficult time.

If you noticed an unexpected re-run of The Colbert Report last night, it wasn't your cable company messing with you or some kind of weird time-travel mishap. The show has unexpectedly suspended production for the next two nights, with no explanation of the cause for the break. Audience members who bought tickets for the taping were sent an e-mail that cited "unforeseen circumstances" and cancelled their tickets, according to comedy website Third Beat.

If you remember the shows Colbert has taped when sick with the flu or with a broken wrist, you know they don't cancel tapings for any ordinary reason. The Daily Show similarly soldiers on no matter what, but has suspended production at the last minute twice, once when Jon Stewart's child was born and, as The AV Club points out, once after a former intern committed suicide. It's unclear if it's happy or sad reasons that caused the Colbert delay, but the fact that it's only a two-day delay should indicate that things will get back to normal fairly soon. It's pretty miraculous that both The Daily Show and Colbert record as frequently and consistently as they do, so it's hard to begrudge them this break-- especially since it seems to be a pretty major event that caused the halt.

If you're even a casual watcher of The Colbert Report, you must be well aware of the Colbert Super PAC. To raise awareness of the insane campaign finance laws that essentially allow candidates to take limitless money from anonymous donors, Colbert has been taking donations from viewers to form his PAC-- Political Action Committee, that is-- and planned to use that money to do… well, we didn't really know. But with the Republican Presidential Primary in Colbert's home state of South Carolina looming, Colbert learned that 5% of primary voters said they would vote for him-- more than would go for actual candidate John Huntsman. With that in mind, Colbert realized he had to hand over the reins of the Super PAC, and, well you can see how it turned out in the video below.

The Colbert Report

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It's unclear exactly how much of a role Colbert will be able to play in the South Carolina, which happens next Saturday, January 21-- he missed the November 1 filing deadline to get his name on the ballot, and write-in candidates are not allowed. But Colbert clearly plans to throw a wrench into the primary with provocative and possibly bizarre ads from his Super PAC, which he's not allowed to coordinate with, but is now run by Jon Stewart-- who, apparently, is Colbert's business partner thanks to their plans to open a bagel shop-cum-travel agency, From Schmear to Eternity.

Colbert has danced along the line between satire and reality for years now, but his Super PAC action over the last few months has taken it to a whole new level. We're unlikely to ever see Colbert as a legitimate political candidate, but the more he throws himself into the gears of the political machine, the more he seems to make sense, and make the real world look like the satire. I know if I were a registered South Carolina Republican, I'd find a way to give him my vote.

When a major show announces they are making the switch to HD, I find myself thinking, "Finally!" If you have an HD TV you know how annoying it can be watching shows that aren't produced in hi-def. The latest to get in on the treatment are Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. They'll begin broadcasting in HD on January 4, 2010.

The fact that Tosh.0, on the same network, has broadcast an entire season (granted it's first) in HD already, this is a bit of a travesty. Daily and Colbert are two of Comedy Central's three signature shows. South Park is the third, but even they've been HD for a while now.

I had the same reaction earlier this year when The Late Late Show made their own transition to HD. It doesn't make sense for one of a network's major shows to be so far behind the times. Is it that expensive with these "talk show" types of formats to transition them to high definition after producing them in regular definition? Were Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert worried that they wouldn't look as pretty if we could see all the lines on their faces (remember Liz Lemon in hi-def on 30 Rock!)?

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report air in a block on Comedy Central weeknights starting at 11 PM ET.

Some dorks just jump off the screen. Some are a little more subtle. Shows like Freaks and Geeks and Big Bang Theory have entire casts of dweebish goobers. Others, (The Office) have guys like Andy Bernard who just sort of sneak up on us. This decade has proven dorks come in all shapes, sizes, social groups and professions. Below is the list of some of the most lovable dorks from the past decade.

Marshall Flinkman (Alias) The techie dork – No other character of this decade tugged at dorky heartstrings quite like Marshall Flinkman. A genius among geniuses; his technical contributions to the team of Sydney Bristow, SD-6, CIA (whatever the hell group they were with at the time) were the thing of legends. He was James Bond’s Q, if Q were the kind of guy who attended ComicCon.

Been known to say: “It's a digital camera. I have it at 42 exposures, but I wanna get it to 47 because... it's a prime number.”

Johnny Drama (Entourage) The famous dork – A quasi-washed up actor riding the coattails of his larger than life younger brother. With roles only a member of the SAG could appreciate (Melrose Place, Viking Quest, after school specials) Johnny Drama epitomizes the guy who is often the unwitting butt of his own jokes.

Been known to say: One day you're lighting up in front of a dozen adults at a Bat Mitzvah, the next your cruisin' down Santa Monica Boulevard offering handjobs for a crack rock.

Hugo “Hurley” Reyes (Lost) The chubby dork – He’s a 300+ pound lottery winner with the worst luck of any human in history. His geeky sensibility and calm (or search for food) in the face of the craziest of circumstances are part of what makes this dork so damn lovable. He wanted to rewrite “Empire Strikes Back” with a couple of improvements including eliminating the Ewoks. A good dork always comes to the aid of George Lucas.

Been known to say: “So... Rose's husband is white. Didn't see that one comin’.”

George Michael Bluth (Arrested Development) The wimpy dork – He once wore black leather pants because he thought it would impress his crush (his first cousin). He wore a fake muscle suit costume under his clothes in order to appear more buff. His proudest moment was becoming manager of the family’s frozen banana stand. And he dated a girl his father lovingly referred to as “Egg” and “Plant.” Need anything else?

Been known to say: “Yeah, I'm gonna need a leather jacket for when I'm on my hog and need to go into a controlled slide.”

Paulie “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri (The Sopranos) The violent dork - The matching wingtip hairdo and shoes are probably enough on their own to put his mobster on the list. Even the mafia needs the unintentionally funny and dimwitted. Paulie offered both. He somehow was loyal to a fault yet foolishly defiant. Oh, and he almost died chasing a Russian "Interior Decorator" through the Pinelands of New Jersey.

Been known to say: “The Boss of this Family told you you were going to be Santa Claus. You're Santa Claus, so shut up about it!”

Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report) The political dork – He cheers for himself before interviews. He wears a "Wrist Strong" bracelet. He vehemently (and sarcastically) supports the Right with such biting intelligence he's tough to argue with. Christ, he even ran for President. He is a four-eyed genius that uses his dorkiness to influence political thought. A thinking man’s dork.

Been known to say: “I've always been a big fan of beauty. Sure, you can't judge a book by its cover but who wants to have sex with a book?”

Hiro Nakamura (Heroes) The romantic dork - a guy whose name is Hiro who wants to be a hero and is on a show called “Heroes.” That probably sums it up best. Hiro is that lovable loser, so romantic in his quest to prove the savior that he often bungles up his own attempts. That he can manipulate time makes it all the better. What dork wouldn’t want the chance to go back, beat the villain, get the girl and save the day? He’s a dork other dorks aspire to be.

Been known to say: “Every town and city around the world has a place where the wise men gather. The Greek oracle of Delphi. The Library at Alexandria. The Hall of Justice.”

Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) The neurotic dork – He wears Dockers and sneakers, is bald with clown hair, argues with strangers, and just happens to have created Seinfeld and is richer than god. Larry David is the prime example of when a dork has too much time on his hands and money in his pocket. He differs from the stereo-typical dork in his apparent lack of any hobbies or interests (except of course, for being neurotic).

Been known to say: “Anybody want to help a semi-retarded individual change a tire?”

Dwight Shrute (The Office) The relentless dork – He owns a beet farm, loves Battlestar Galactica, opts for the Sipowitz look on the job, was once a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy, was his sensei’s pet at the local dojo, performed his own circumcision, resorbed his twin brother in his mother’s womb, and worships his (possibly even more dorky) boss. Dwight doesn’t apologize for his dorkiness, he embraces it.

Been known to say: “First rule in roadside beet sales, put the most attractive beets on top. The ones that make you pull the car over and go “wow, I need this beet right now”. Those are the money beets.”

Jonathan “J.D.” Dorian (Scrubs) The ultimate dork - A guy lost in his own thoughts. He's the dorkiest of all the dorks. J.D.'s "fantasies" are things of legend. Whether it’s an office made entirely of chocolate, his coworkers acting out “99 Luftballoons,” or his head floating free so he could be in two places at once, JD embodies everything that makes a dork.

Been known to say: “I'm hiding. I really don't want to be bald. I have a sneaking suspicion it won't work for me, I think it might accentuate my spoon-chest.”

Honorable Mentions from the rest of the CB staff go to: Betty Suarez (Ugly Betty), Fred Burkle (Angel), Chuck Bartowski (Chuck), Vincent Masuka (Dexter) and Howard Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory)

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