Next Tuesday, Stephen Colbert will host his first “Late Show” when George Clooney and Jeb Bush will be his guests.
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To a casual onlooker, such wild hype might seem excessive, even counter-productive, especially when you consider that early test runs of Colbert’s shows have indicated that he doesn’t stray too far from the format established by his predecessor David Letterman.
So Colbert announced a raffle of his own for the same amount of money-except those $3 donations will all be donated to the Yellow Ribbon Fund. In addition to a ticket to the taping, the victor can also come up with one “Non-obscene” question that Colbert will ask Bush. Can it construct on the individuality of “The Colbert Report“, a sui generis concoction Colbert tailor-made to his expertise and passions? Where’s my cut of that sweet three bucks, Governor? Huh? Street teams in New York City will be handing the bottles out for free on the day of the premiere.
“Gosh, I hope it’s Amy Schumer“, Colbert said. It also didn’t help that in the raffle announcement Bush referred to seeing the show with “a new host”, rather than “Stephen Colbert“.
“For example, one question might be: ‘Don’t you wish you’d consulted Stephen before launching your contest?'” Colbert suggests.
The former “Daily Show” correspondent got his hosting start on his successful spin-off, “The Colbert Report“.
The proceeds from Colbert’s raffle are slated to go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, and Colbert said until his show, he’ll be on Jeb’s website, trying to win those VIP tickets.
After 1,447 episodes as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” and a almost nine-month gap between shows that’s left him “twitching”, Colbert’s stepping away from the hilariously obtuse persona he created for his last show to play himself.
“You have 200 shows to fill, so you could really have them all on multiple times”, said Colbert.
“I appreciated these interviews, they have been very gratifying”, he studies.
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Little wonder that Colbert’s disciples – his erstwhile Colbert Nation – wait anxiously to see what “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” will be like: How beholden will it be to late-night talk-show conventions stretching back six decades? Are you as curious as I am about how Colbert will fare?
