Here is the website, it's why he left Daily Show.... http://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver#/ Love the title "Last Week Tonight". Cobert would be himself on Late Night and not the idiot he is playing on his current show. This is an interesting article about Craig Ferguson leaving at the end of the year... http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...cbs-hosting-late-night-show-article-1.1746116 John Oliver would be great for a daily talk show. Once again his Daily Show was so of the best in years.
Neil Patrick Harris talks about taking over for Letterman... Neil Patrick Harris Says 'Late Show' Gig Would Be 'Asinine Amount of Work'
I love that they called it "Hedwig and the Angry Itch." I like Neil Patrick Harris a lot but I think that his talents would shine best in other projects.
You thought Leno was "genuine" and Conan was not? That's interesting. I always thought Jay came across as one of the biggest phonies on two legs -- with a talk show. Sounds like he wants it... Sounds like (maybe) he doesn't. I continue to think that NPH, with his skillset, would have a very good chance of making CBS competitive at 11:30. And speaking of keeping it in the family, he already has a long term relationship with the CBS brass. If he can handle the interviews, it just seems like a natural fit to me.
Letterman actually plays a "big role" in my life in that he brought me in contact with casual english (I am from Germany) and the US Late Night entertainment. Letterman ran 1993 on german television in an unscrambled window of the pay TV channel "premiere" and for some reason his show "clicked" with me immediatly. With my lame school english (I was 17 years old) at first I could only understand half, but after one year I pretty much understood everything. I tried Leno, who ran on NBC Europe, but his show wasnt as funny to me, it lacked the self deprecating irony of Letterman's humor. He is also one of the reasons why I later began to watch Star Trek (and movies) in English by renting imported VHS video cassettes from the UK, because due to my training by watching his show through the 90s I had no problem understand english in US shows, movies and series. So pretty much because of Letterman I am very much used to english, even though I am german and dont talk english directly, I mostly write and listen. Letterman also spawned a "copy" on german TV, hosted by Harald Schmidt. First an inspired show which ran weekly (with the writer and co-host Herbert Feuerstein, who was working for MAD Magazine in New York and a Letterman fan, and who later took over the german MAD Magazine), then a almost exact copy (right down to the sets) on a daily basis in 1996 (after hopping several channels his show was canceled for good this year). I didnt watch this "copy" - mainly because I knew the original. Letterman is unmatchable. Today I mostly follow Craig Ferguson. He improvises much of his show, has clever, sometimes "timeless" monologues (about historical events or figures related to a specific date), and also a self deprecating humor. Ferguson doesnt take Late Night seriously at all and his show is all about beeing silly, having fun and making fun about everything (but not so much scripted, mostly improvised). He brings back the "talk" into the Late Night format and ignores mostly scripted elements. Fergusons weakness is his lack of pop culture references, his show is mostly self-referencial, so he doesnt provide funny bits to current events you can run on YT in 3 minute videos (Fallon and Kimmel own in that regard). Which is also the reason why Ferguson very likely doesnt work for the 1130h slot and would be crushed by Fallon and Kimmel. Ferguson works for the mature viewer, not the young audience. BUT: Ferguson seems to have a loyal fan base - his shows are daily uploaded on YT on several channels, with full 40 minutes (!). That doesnt happen with the other Late Night shows. When Letterman retired, I was thinking about who could replace him, and Seth MacFarlane came into my mind. It would be interesting to see him host a Late Night program. I think he has all attributes for a good host. Plus MacFarlane is a Star Trek fan ... more Star Trek references in Late Night everyone?
McFarlane is an interesting suggestion. I can't see him doing it though because he's got a lot on his plate right now. And he seems content making movies every few years now (after his western comedy, Ted 2 is in the works as well).
Interview with David Letterman (Charly Rose, February 16, 1996) [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IYekI7ldSI[/yt]
Maybe he meant that Leno came across as genuinely phony. I think that Ellen would be a good choice (if she's interested in giving up her afternoon show), and NPH could be an interesting outside-the-box choice. More likely than not, though, this is Colbert's gig to turn down.
What I meant was, that people whose opinions I trust have spent time with Leno on and off the show. They say that he is genuinely a nice guy, and what you see is pretty much what you get. I mostly go by my gut on these things, and it rarely lets me down. Opinions, as always, may vary. EDIT: Conan has always come across to me as one who is putting on a show. The guy you see on tv is not who he is in real life. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I like his show.
It's based on the movie of the same name. Have you look dup the Youtue clip "Hedwig Angry Itch"? It's the best song ever made.
Except the movie, which is based on the play, not the other way around, is called "Hedwig and the Angry INCH."
Jimmy Fallon's Top 10 List: Why Letterman's Retiring [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rGv_SjT47A[/yt] Howard Stern On David Letterman Retirement [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ac5EMg48Ak[/yt]
Holy crap! I'm a massive fan of Colbert and think he'll do great, but I'm going to miss the hell out of the Colbert Report. Although after 9 years playing that character, I can easily see why he might be eager to try something else.
I'm not surprised, Colbert obviously has wider interests than what he can do as the character on his show. I will really miss The Report, though, and I doubt he will be doing anything so politically pointed on CBS. But his writing staff is really good and inventive, and I imagine the bulk of them will go with him. It will be interesting to see him do an interview without the frequent obnoxious interruptions of his character. Colbert is not a lot older than Kimmel but his "vibe" seems quite a bit older. I wonder if he could be seen as counter-programming to Fallon, to pick up the older Leno/Letterman viewers while at the same time holding some younger ones from Comedy Central. One thing I haven't been able to find in the reporting: Does Letterman have a deal for any continued ownership in "The Late Show" or will it be wholly CBS?
He often went on Letterman and other shows as just himself, and was still plenty funny and entertaining, so I'm not really worried about that part. Although there's no reason he couldn't continue to bring out his more "obnoxious" persona now and then, just without the more political bent of the Report.
Though to take a step back from my love of Colbert... Another middle aged white guy.... What a way to stand out CBS.
Yeah, with so many late night talk shows (The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan, Late Night with Letterman and now Colbert) which basically have the same shtick and routine, I was hoping CBS would branch out but we all knew they would gravitate toward Colbert.