Stephen Colbert Announces First Musical Guest

Television host and comedian Stephen Colbert said he’s practically itching to get back on stage. Colbert pretends that such a thing doesn’t exist.

“I want to do jokes on Donald Trump so badly, and I have no venue. Now I can just talk”.

During the TCA Q&A, Colbert made a point of stopping to send several tweets, including one mocking a reporter for being a little too aggressive in trying to ask a question. “He could!” Colbert said.

Given that Colbert has brought over his staff from “The Colbert Report” over to this show, he did say that there will be a lot of political humor on “The Late Show”.

“I like intellectuals, writers, people in sports…”

“I wish I could have done better than George Clooney, but he’ll do for the first guest”, Colbert joked at the panel. Later, he said he might do the monologue in different places and in different ways early on. Now I feel more freed up. “I don’t like comedy in theory”.

Plus, Colbert explains, audiences already know who the “real” Stephen Colbert is. That said, he admits to at least a bit of nerves. And Colbert hailed Letterman’s influence, and Dave’s willingness to make fun of anybody. “I can’t wait for that to be the only guy you see”. It was really lovely.

The late-night host acknowledges he is coming into “Late Show” under the unique circumstance of having previously been on late night exclusively as a character. “I used to be depleted toward the end of each meeting from experiencing the labyrinth in his mind before I said anything, sufficiently quick so the group of onlookers couldn’t tell”. I simply hope he’s taking his nutritional vitamins.

That’s all you really need to hear about the current mindset of Stephen Colbert. Advancements in sound and lighting technology, he said, require less equipment on and around the stage. As a result, “I find it a very intimate space now”. Instead, he went to the edge of the stage and sat down, legs dangling.